THE   MOUTH    OF   GOLD. 


A    SERIES    OF 


DRAMATIC    SKETCHES 


ILLUSTRATING  THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 


CHRYSOSTOM. 


BY    EDWLN    JOHNSO.y. 


.N    TOH 
.      n      • 


A.    S.    BARNES     &     CO. 

NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO: 

1873- 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  l»/ 

A.   S.   BARNES  &  CO. 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

THE  materials  for  these  sketches  have  been 
derived  mainly  from  the  biographies  of  CHRYSOS- 
TOM  by  Neander  and  Perthes.  I  have,  in  some 
instances,  followed  closely  the  translation  of  the 
latter  work  by  Hovey  and  Ford. 

It  was  not  till  the  following  pages  had  been 
stereotyped  that  I  learned  of  another  biography, 
recently  issued  in  England  by  Rev.  W.  R.  W. 
Stephens,  M.  A.  Its  perusal  might,  here  and 
there,  have  given  a  different  color  to  the  repre 
sentation  I  have  made  ;  if  indeed  I  might  not  have 
deemed  a  version  in  the  present  form  superflu 
ous,  in  view  of  the  elaborate  and  highly  interest 
ing  treatment  of  the  theme  by  the  new  volume.  I 
trust,  however,  that  I  have  not  seriously  erred 
from  historical  accuracy,  and  that  books  so  essen 
tially  different  in  plan  may  be  mutually  helpful  in 

M41724 


4  Introductory  Note. 

diffusing  a  knowledge  of  one  who  well  deserves 
to  be  known  and  honored  always  and  everywhere. 
My  aim  being  to  present  a  condensed  and,  at 
the  same  time,  vivid  picture  of  the  man  and  of 
the  scenes  and  characters  that  surrounded  him, 
the  dramatic  form  seemed  to  me  suitable.  But 
my  little  book  aspires  not  to  the  dignity  of  a 
drama.  It  is  only  as  the  title  page  indicates : 

a  series  of  dramatic  sketches. 

E.  J. 

MAY,  1873. 


1O 

S.    K.   J 


I. 

PERSONS    REPRESENTED. 


JOHN,  surname d  CHRYSOSTOM. 
PAULUS,  a  young  man  of  Antioch. 
FLAVIAN,      "         "       "    Rome. 
GLAUCUS,      "         "       "    Antioch. 
ACHMED,  an  Arabian  trader. 
ANTHUSA,  mother  of  JOHN. 

SCENE.— Antioch,  in  Syria. 
TIME.— A.  D.  370. 


SCENE  1.— The  Arcqfa   ' 

Enter  PAULUS  and  FLAVUX. 

>      .«>  ^  -} 

Paul.   Is  it  not  fair  ? 

Fla.  More  fair  than  you  had  told, 

Or  I  had  dreamed.     The  Greeks  are  only  just 
When  from  the  brows  of  candidates  at  home — 
Athens  and  Corinth — they  withhold  the  crown, 
Assigning  it  to  this  bright  Syrian  city, 
As  Paris  gave  the  golden  fruit  to  Venus. 
Fit  appellation  joins  the  name  when  men 
Do  speak  of  ANTIOCH  the  beautiful. 

Paul.  See  where  her  statue  stands,  a  radiant  queen 
Whose  feet  rest  on  the  rising  river-god 
Orontes.      Lofty  Libanus  looks  down, 
With  fostering  love,  upon  the  city's  face, 
Like  a  fond  mother  on  the  child  she  folds ; 
And  Taurus,  towering  opposite,  defies 
The  harsh  North-wind  to  march  his  forces  hither. 

Fla.  A  better  safeguard  than  the  circling  hills 
Hath  set  its  sign  upon  yon  crag  you  call 
Mount  Silphius,  where  the  royal  bird  alighting 


8  The   Month    of  Gold. 

Informed  Seleucus  here  to  found  his  city. 

Now  crowns  the  height,  as  if  from  Rome  transferred 

A  temple  consecrate  to  Jupiter, 

Whose  power  propitious  can  alone  defend 

Cities  art d  rn^i).  ; 

Paul.  '    And  yet  we  lack  assurance 

'  Tire  king; of  gods  can  curb  the  Vulcan  crew 
That  underneath  this  soil  are  wont  to  work, 
Till  the  tremendous  blasting  splits  their  roof — 
Which  is  our  floor — and  we,  poor  souls,  are  put 
In  fear  and  peril  of  an  utter  fall 
If  piety  can  save,  we  are  most  safe  : 
For  not  alone  to  Jupiter  we  pray, 
And  to  the  host  who  hail  him  as  their  head ; 
From  Palestine  are  come  the  worshippers 
Of  Him  they  name  Jehovah,  Israel's  God ; 
A  hundred  thousand  wear  the  title  fixed 
At  Antioch  first  upon  a  feeble  band 
Who  followed  Christ  i  the  title  blazoned  since 
Upon  imperial  standards,  and  embraced 
By  multitudes  throughout  the  realm. 

Fla.  Tell  me 

The  manner  of  your  Christian  folk. 

Paul.  Why  much 

The  manner  of  us  all :  for  Antioch 
Assimilates  all  strange  diversity. 


Antioch.  9 

As  in  the  swift  Orontes  meet  and  merge 

The  waters  trickling  forth  from  far-off  founts 

Among  the  frozen  hills,  and  those  that  leave, 

Reluctantly,  the  flowery  meads,  and  those 

That  plunge  impetuous  from  the  nearer  heights, 

So  doth  our  social  current  sweep  all  sects 

And  sorts  along  in  frolic  motion.     See  ! 

The  stream  is  swelling  now,  as  with  a  freshet. 

The  voice  of  Daphne  calls  her  votaries  ; 

And  through  this  arched  and  shady  way  they  pour — 

The  Greek  and  Arab,  Persian,  Jew  and  Gaul — 

Costumes  and  dialects  diverse,  but  minds 

Intent  alike  on  pleasure, 

Fla,  Windingly, 

Nor  without  stain  of  sordid  contact  runs 
Orontes  :  if  report  be  true,  the  tide 
Of  pleasure  here  runs  at  its  wayward  will, 
And  not  too  limpid  !  {Enter  GLAUCUS. 

Paul.  Here's  a  Christian  friend. — 
Ho,  Glaucus,  whither  bound  ?  and  wherefore  hold 
Your  course  so  breezily  that  lazy  barques, 
As  this  good  friend  from  Rome  and  I  myself, 
Are  like  to  be  run  down  by  you  and  sunk 
Incontinently? 

Glau.  Pardon,  Flavian; 

Your  pardon,  both  ;  and  for  my  punishment 


io  The  Mo  lit  k  of  Gold. 

I'll  let  the  charms  that  drew  me,  as  with  chains, 
Float  out  of  sight.     Fortune  may  send  betimes 
This  way  some  other  fair  for  company. 
Oh  what  were  Daphne's  fountains,  groves  and  flowers 
Without  the  light  of  love  revealing  them  ? 

Paul.  Enough  of  that.     But  tell  us  of  the  race 
Wherein  your  faction  yesterday  took  part. 

4<  Sunt  quos  currictilo  pulverem  Olympicum 
Collegisse  juvat  metaque  fervidis 
Evitata  rotis  palmaque  nobilis — " 

Glau.  And  you  not  there  ? 

Paul.  Nay  ;  for  the  envious  wind, 

Though  fervently  invoked  to  waft  us  up 
From  port  Seleucia,  where  I  met  my  friend, 
Fell  off,  and  left  us,  fretting  at  our  fate, 
To  lie  inert,  while  you  and  all  the  town 
Enjoyed  your  holiday. 

Glau.  Rare  holiday  ! 

The  sun  bade  every  vapor  that  could  break 
His  view  withdraw,  and  with  wide-open  eye 
Gazed  down  upon  the  concave  field  that  swarmed 
With  scholars,  soldiers,  citizens  and  priests, 
Plebeians  and  patricians,  beauty,  youth 
And  honor.     First  the  wrestlers  played  their  part; 
And  then  the  rival  ranks  of  green  and  blue, 
Ranged  opposite  each  other,  watched  the  course. 


Antioch.  1 1 

Fla.  You  wear  the  green. 

Glau.  And  proud  am  I  to  wear  it. — • 
Four  chariots,  burnished  bright  as  Phoebus'  own, 
Flashed  suddenly  upon  the  field.     Their  steeds — 
The  best  of  rich  Arabia's  race — ill  brooked 
Restraint  till  all  was  ready.     Ardent  rays 
Shot  from  their  eyes  and  nostrils.     On  their  backs 
The  gilded  harnesses  sat  quivering. 
Each  lithe  and  keen-eyed  charioteer  braced  firm 
His  feet,  and  tugged  the  reins, 

A  bugle  note ! 

And,  as  an  arrow  leaves  the  twanging  cord, 
Those  eager  steeds  sprang  forward.     Then  uprose 
A  shout  from  all  the  multitude  \  but  soon 
Suspense  kept  silence,  while,  obscured  in  dust, 
The  champions  sped  from  sight.     The  cloud  of  dust 
Recedes  and  falls.     But  now  another  cloud 
Arises.     Scarcely  seen  at  first,  it  grows 
Substantial,  growing  nearer,  moving  on 
Amidst  a  mingled  murmur  of  applause 
And  rage,     A  chariot  overturned  !     A  horse 
Dragging  his  driver  by  the  tangled  reins 
Lifeless,  himself  a  mass  of  foam  and  blood  ! 
I  marked,  amidst  the  flying  ruin,  well 
A  badge  of  blue,  and  then  I  lent  my  voice 
To  swell  the  volumed  note  of  victory. 


12  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Fla.  The  charioteer  was  dead  ? 
Glau.  Never  again 

His  skill  shall  threaten  our  defeat.     The  wreck 
Was  scarce  removed  when,  following  a  sound 
Like  rumbling  thunder,  rushed  four  steeds  in  sight. 
They  rather  flew  than  ran.     The  foremost  pair 
Were  decked  with  green ;  and  at  each  moment   made 
A  wider  space  behind  their  whirling  wheels. 
I  wonder  if  our  uproar  reached  you  not 
When,  seizing  Lucius  from  his  glowing  car, 
We  bore  him  on  our  shoulders  to  and  fro ; 
AVe   soothed  and  crowned  the  panting  steeds,  and 

danced, 

And  drained  such  bumpers  as  the  god  of  wine 
Himself  might  pour. 

The  vanquished  soon  forsook 
The  field.     And  prudently  :  for  some  light  word 
Of  scorn,  let  fall  by  them  or  us,  had  struck 
Perchance  the  signal  of  a  bloody  strife.  » 

But  why  recall  the  taste  of  pleasures  past  ? 
To-day  holds  to  our  lips  a  cup  brimful 
Of  joyance.     Come  with  me  to  Daphne's  bowers. 

Paul.  Our  feet  shall  follow  yours  more  leisurely. 

Glau.  Then,  for  the  present,  Fare  ye  well. 

Paul  and  Fla.  Farewell.  \Exit  Glaucus. 

Fla.  If  all  the  sect  are  weighted  light  as  he, 


Antioch.  13 

Tis  hardly  strange  it  has  outstripped  so  soon 
Religions  older  than  itself. 

Paul.  Haply 

The  next  whom  we  encounter  may  be  one 
Whom  other  than  Olympic  strifes  inflame— 
An  athlete  on  the  philosophic  field, 
Delighting  in  the  dust  of  disputation. 
The  web  of  gossamer  is  not  so  fine 
As  are  the  threads  these  subtle  thinkers  spin  ; 
Arid  in  the  metaphysic  mesh  they  lie, 
Intent  to  catch  and  bind,  with  syllogism 
And  curious  lore,  the  unwary  and  unskilled. 
Or  forth  they  sally,  armed  with  wits  more  keen 
Than  are  the  blades  Damascus  fabricates. 
Amidst  the  clash  of  words  with  words,  we  hear, 
Confusedly,  of  Father  and  of  Son, 
Of  substance  and  of  essence  infinite, 
Of  pre-existence  and  fatality, 
Of  angel  natures  and  accomplishments, 
And  oh,  I  know  not  what  of  themes  too  high 
Or  quiddities  too  fine  for  mortal  sight, 
But  all  the  more  provocative  of  zeal, 
As  lightest  tinder  kindles  quickest  fire. 

Fla.  And  have  you  none  of  those  fanatic  men 
Who  fly  from  life  to  dull  monastic  cells ; 
Or  who  from  caves  and  grottoes  grim  dislodge 


14  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

The  savage  animals  and  reptile  tribes, 

To  make  themselves  a  tomb-like  dwelling-place  ? 

Paul.  Oh,  yes  ;    yon  hillsides    swarm   with  holy 
monks. 

Fla.  I  see  approaching  us  an  old  acquaintance. 

[Enter  ACHMED. 

What  brings  thee  hither,  Achmed,  from  thy  home 
In  far  Arabia  ? 

Ach.  Faith,  a  camel  brought  me. 
Upon  his  ridgy  back  I  rocked  across 
The  desert,  under  skies  of  fire,  to  find 
In  Antioch,  a  Roman  whom  I  met 
Long  since  in  Alexandria.     Wherefore  here  ? 

Fla.     For   pleasure,    not   for   pelf.     I'll   warrant 

thou 

Art  occupied  with  thoughts  of  gain.     Tell  us — 
We  are  no  thieves — what  hast  thou  in  thy  pack  ? 

Ach.  Stand  close,  and  you  shall  hear. 

Beyond  that  height 

Which  hides  a  curve  in  the  Orontes,  lies 
A  little  camp.     Ten  camels  crouch  beneath 
The  sycamores  that  throw  a  friendly  shade. 
Arbutus,  myrtle,  bay  and  fig-tree  grace 
The  shore  that  seems  thrice  beautiful  to  eyes 
Accustomed  to  the  sandy  wastes.     My  men 
Keep  watch,  while  I  within  the  city  search 


Anthusa.  \  5 

For  some  rich  dealer  who  may  buy  with  gold 
My  store  of  myrrh  and  aloes,  grain  and  gum. 

Paul.  I  know  the  man — a  Jew,  whose  pile  of  coin 
Would  scarce  a  diminution  own,  although 
For  all  thy  goods  he  gave  thee  twice  their  worth. 
/Ve'll  go  together  to  his  dismal  house. 

Ach.     Why  then   I'll   show   you    presently   some 

strings 

Of  pearls,  more  pure  and  large  than  ever  yet 
The  brows  or  necks  of  empresses  have  worn. 
I  wish — in  answer  to  your  courtesy — 
Your  lady-loves  might  be  festooned  with  them, 


SCENE  II. — A  Room  in  Ant  huso's  house. 
Enter  ANTHUSA  and  JOHN. 

John.  Urge  me  not,  mother,  to  abide  with  thee, 
But,  with  thy  blessing,  bid  me  seek  the  cloister. 

Anth.  Bethink  thee  how  the  Moabitess  Ruth 
Addressed  to  Naomi,  who  was  her  mother 
By  marriage  only,  words  unlike  to  thine. 
'  P'ntreat  me  not  to  leave  thee ' — was  her  cry ; 


1 6  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

But  thine,  '  Entreat  me  not  stay  with  thee.' 

Oh  dire  fatality  of  modern  days  ! 

The  pulse  of  filial  love  no  longer  beats. 

John.  Not  lack  of  filial  love  forbids  my  stay ; 
But  loyalty  to  One  whose  claim  I  hold 
Superior  to  every  human  tie. 

Anth.  Yet   Mary's    son,  whom    death    alone    re 
moved 

From  her  whose  soul  was  pierced  with  pain,  left  not 
The  widow  childless.     Mortal  agony 
Could  not  divide  his  thoughts  from  her.     I  see 
To-day  his  look  of  tender  pity  fall 
Upon  another  woman,  and  I  hear 
His  voice  address  a  well-beloved  John  : 
'  Behold  thy  mother  !  ' 

While  my  bridal  robe 
Was  bright,  Death  folded  it  away  forever. 
The  meek  and  matron  robe  was  mine  ere  yet 
The  years  of  youth  were  fled :  but  when  he  fell 
On  whom  I  leaned  so  lovingly,  I  clung 
More  close  to  one  who  wore  his  image  dear. 
'  This  little  one,'  I  said,  '  will  be  a  man 
When  life  with  me  has  passed  meridian. 
As  bees  lay  by  in  store  for  days  of  dearth, 
I'll  treasure  up  in  him  all  precious  things 
Of  strength,  of  knowledge  and  of  piety : 


AntJiusa.  17 

So,  in  my  weak  and  wintry  season,  want 
Shall  touch  me  not. '     Alas  !  thou  wouldst  defraud 
And  leave  me  twice  a  widow.     Wait,  I  pray, 
Till  my  removal  hence  shall  break  thy  bonds. 

John.  My  mother,  this  is  not  like  thee.  My  boast 
Has  been  that  thou  wert  strong  and  full  of  faith, 
Afraid  of  nothing  but  of  sin.      Full  well 
I  know  the  story  of  thy  life — a  life 
Made  up  of  sacrifice  for  God  and  me. 
Though  princely  suitors  came,  they  kneeled  in  vain 
To  win  a  heart  pre-occupied.     Thy  home — 
An  isle  of  peace  amidst  a  sea  of  sin — 
Was  kept  for  me,  and  here  my  mind  was  moulded. 
As  Moses  trod  the  halls  of  palaces 
And  learned  the  lore  of  Egypt's  heathen  schools, 
Yet  kept  the  love  of  country  and  of  God 
A  mother's  lips  and  life  had  breathed  upon  him, 
So  fell  away  from  me  the  arguments 
Of  Pagan  teachers  and  the  charms  of  vice, 
Because  I  felt  my  mother's  nobleness 
And  purity.     Libanius  himself, 
My  tutor,  filled  with  scorn  of  Christian  truth 
And  fired  with  proselyting  zeal,  exclaimed, 
Before  the  miracle  of  character 

Like    thine,    '  What    mothers   do    these    Christians 
have ! ' 


1 8  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Anth.  Thy   praise    is   sweet,  but   sweeter  is  thy 
presence. 

John.    Should   I  unlearn   the   lesson   thou   hast 

taught, 

And  turn  my  back  upon  the  chosen  goal  ? 
Ambition  marked  for  me  a  shining  track  : 
By  learning  and  by  eloquence  to  win 
The  meed  of  praise  and  rich  emolument 
Within  the  forum.     Soon  I  found  what  arts 
And  fallacies  and  modes  unclean  pollute 
The  fane  of  justice,  taint  the  name  of  law, 
And  make  the  advocate  himself  too  oft 
The  criminal.     In  sorrow  and  disgust 
I  turned  away,  resolved  henceforth  to  be 
CHRIST'S  advocate.     The  purpose  thou  didst  bless. 

Anth.  But  wherefore  seek  in  cloistered  solitude 
To  serve  the  Master  who  himself  was  found 
In  synagogues  and  in  the  market-place, 
An  open  publisher  of  truth  ? 

John.  To  quench 

The  fires  of  sensual  passion  in  ourselves — 
To  scourge  our  pride  and  appetite — to  prune 
The  branches,  that  the  fruit  may  thrive — is  not 
The  better  part  of  service  this  ?      But  thou, 
My  mother,  little  can  thy  pure  heart  know 
How  stern  the  task  imposed  on  grosser  nature, 
When  it  would  conquer  earthliness  and  rise 


AntJiusa.  19 

Superior  to  self.     I  would  have  leave 
To  fight  upon  a  vantage  ground. 

Anth.  I  doubt 

The  advantage,  oh  my  son ;  for  so  it  seems 
To  my  poor  thought  as  if  a  nation  pent 
Within  itself  should  breed  intestine  strife 
And  feverish  anarchy;  whereas  if  set 
Confronting  foreign  arms,  the  factions  all 
Would  league,  to  subjugate  the  common  foe. 
Disease  but  seldom  dares  to  strike  the  man 
WTho  comes  to  conquer  it :  more  oft  it  seeks 
The  fugitive  who  yields  to  craven  fear. 
To  govern,  not  exterminate  the  powers 
Our  Father  gave,  I  deem  the  soul's  high  province. 
The  cross  indeed  is  ours,  but  needing  not 
That  we  should  seek  for  it  nor  fashion  it : 
In  daily  duties  will  its  form  appear. 

John.  I  know  not  if  the  life  monastic  be 
A  cross  in  such  a  time,  when  riot  reigns 
With  revelry,  the  State  is  stirred  with  strife, 
The  church  itself  is  filled  with  worldliness, 
With  love  of  power  and  love  of  pleasures  vain. 
Well  might  we  covet,  as  the  Psalmist  did, 
*  Wings  like  the  dove  that  we  might  fly  to  rest.' 

Anth.  Beware,  or  selfishness  will  steal  and  claim 
The  guise  of  virtue.     Christ  came  down  from  rest 
And  residence  celestial,  here  to  toil 


20  The  Month  of  Gold. 

And  die,  that  he  might  better  a  bad  world. 
He  bids  us  follow  him ;  but  sends  a  Dove 
To  brood  with  wings  of  comfort  o'er  our  hearts 
And  bear  us  oft  in  spirit  home  to  rest. 
Enough,  till  he  shall  call  us  hence  forever. 

John.  I  yield  :  and  yet  if  in  retiracy 
And  prayer  and  study  of  God's  Book,  the  years 
Might  pass  till  I  should  hear  the  call  divine 
As  Paul,  the  Apostle,  heard  it  when  he  left 
Arabian  solitudes  to  preach  the  Christ, 
So  might  I  hope  to  be  the  minister 
Of  greater  good  to  men. 

Anth.  I  thank  thee,  Lord  !— 

Hadst  thou,  my  son,  from  this  thy  youthful  home 
Gone  forth  to  make  a  new  one  and  a  dearer, 
My  fondest  earthly  wish  had  been  fulfilled. 
'Tis  well :  I  question  neither  God  nor  thee. 
Do  thou  His  will.     But  oh,  'tis  not  His  will 
That  I  should  lack  the  solace  of  thy  face 
And  daily  speech,  till  human  love  is  lost 
In  love  divine.     Then,  filial  duty  done, 
Thou  shalt  be  free,  and  God  will  show  thy  way 
And  crown  thy  life  with  good. 

John.       ^  Of  such  a  mother, 

The  Lord  help  me  to  be  a  worthy  son ; 
And  late  receive  her  to  His  Paradise ! 


II. 

PERSONS    REPRESENTED, 

CHRYSOSTOM,  PAULUS,  GLAUCUS. 
C^SARIUS  and  HELLEBICHUS,  Judges. 
MACEDONIUS,  a  Monk. 
SOOTHSAYER,  Officers,  Rioters. 

SCENE.—  Antioch. 
TIME.— A.   D.    387. 


SCENE  I.— The  Market-place. 
Enter  PAULUS  and  GLAUCUS. 

Paul.  Whence  is  this  preacher  whom  the  general 

voice 
Declares  a  new  Demosthenes  ? 

Glau.  'Twas  here 

In  Antioch  his  youthful  years  were  spent ; 
Not  heedlessly,  like  ours,  but  hovered  o'er 
With  love  and  counsel,  as  with  angel  wings. 
Like  Samuel  in  the  temple,  he  grew  up 
A  priest;  the  robe  his  saintly  mother  wrought 
Of  pure  example  and  of  precepts  wise 
Investing  him.     Of  older  men  he  seemed 
The  natural  ruler ;  but  refused  to  wear 
The  name  of  bishop,  and  retired,  when  death 
Had  ended  filial  duty,  to  the  cell 
And  cave.     And  now,  as  one  who  wandered  far 
To  rob  the  hills  and  strain  the  streams  of  gold 
Returns  to  spend  his  princely  store,  so  he 
Comes  back  to  utter  words  so  affluent 
With  wisdom  and  with  grace,  the  multitude 
Proclaim  him  CHRYSOSTOM,  the  Golden  Mouth. 


24  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Paul.  They  say  he  deals  with  dialectics  less 
Than  with  the  life  ? 

Glau.  Why  yes,  the  chemistry 

Of  light,  or  what  the  difference  precise 
May  be  between  the  beams  of  sun  and  moon 
Doth  not  so  much  concern  his  thought  as  that 
The  light  may  penetrate  the  world,  to  cheer, 
Reprove  and  purify. 

Paul.  Amidst  the  throng 

Whom  this  new  Orpheus  with  his  music  charms 
Are  met,  they  say,  the  human  butterflies 
And  bees  who  once  to  gather  sweets,  and  air 
Their  robes  of  gauzy  grace  found  full  employ. 
But  strange  above  all  else  that  Rumor  tells 
Is  this :  that  Glaucus,  gayest  of  the  gay, 
Forsakes  full  oft  the  theatre,  the  grove 
Where  dance  the  nymphs  around  Apollo's  statue, 
The  chariot-race,  and  every  scene  that  once 
Enchanted  him,  to  hear  the  homilies 
That  pour  persuasion  from  the  Golden  Mouth. 

Glau.  For  my  apology  hear  him  thyself. 

Paul.  I  will,  upon  occasion  fit ;  and  bid 
The  giant  who  subdues  you  all  overthrow 
My  hard  and  skeptic  judgment  if  he  can. 

Glau.  A  giant  not  in  stature,  if  in  mind  ; 
Nor  are  his  words  as  blows  to  break  the  will, 


The  Riot.  2$ 

But  rather  rays  that  melt  the  feelings,  fire 

The  purpose,  and  consume  the  dross  of  self. 

But  yesterday  the  great  assembly  stood 

Responsive  to  each  glance  his  eye  shot  forth, 

The  changing  thoughts  that  fell,  like  light  and  shade, 

Upon  his  lips,  or  lent  his  voice  its  tone. 

Paul.    Pity  such  power  were   not    employed    to 

quell 

The  rising  waves  of  mutiny,  that  now 
Do  join  the  earthquake  and  the  dearth  to  mar 
Our  state  and  spoil  our  dream  of  peace. 

Glau.  This  was  the  very  upshot  of  the  speech 
He  gave  us  yesterday  :  '  Forbear,'*  he  said, 
•'  The  loud  applauses  fit  for  theatres  ; 
But  lend  the  meed  I  covet  fervently  : 
Arrest  the  rioters — the  idle  mob 
Of  miscreants  who  supply  for  paltry  pay 
The  noise  that  dancers  and  that  demagogues 
Delight  in,  and  to  whom  the  rude  revolt, 
The  clamorous  cry,  the  clash  of  arms  are  sport. 
Say  not,  oh  citizens,  that  prudence  shuns 
To  make  of  these  vile  men  sworn  enemies. 
The  Baptist  made  an  impious  king  his  foe, 
But  prudent  silence  had  been  cowardice, 
Than  which  the  true  man  sooner  chooses  death. 
Nor  say  the  matter  is  not  mine,  as  Cain 


26  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Cried  out  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"     Each 
Is  keeper  to  the  rest,  and  all  are  bound 
To  keep  the  commonwealth  from  injury. 
If  you  that  hear  would  undertake  the  task 
You  should  compel  from  Pagan  and  from  Jew 
The  cry:  "These  Christians  saved  our  capital!  " 
Nay,  let  one  man  be  charged  with  holy  zeal — 
His  influence  alone  shall  change  a  city ! ' 

Paul.  I  would  the  eloquence  had  wrought  so  well 
That  bonds  and  banishment  had  rid  our  streets 
Of  all  the  cursed  crew  ill-fortune  sends 
To  vex  and  do  us  harm.  \Enter  SOOTHSAYER. 

What  say  the  stars, 

Whose  eyes  prophetic  scan  events  to  us 
Yet  unrevealed  ? 

Sooth.  Of  late  the  omens  all 

Are  full  of  ire  ;  the  planets  move  perturbed, 
And  every  augury  gives  note  of  evil. 
What  wonder  if  the  ancient  gods  do  frown 
When  some  new-fangled  faith  disputes  their  throne, 
Destroys  their  altars,  and  instead  of  us, 
Their  ministers,  admits  an  upstart  race 
Of  Christian  sorcerers  and  Jewish  jugglers  ? 
But  hark !  what  sounds   are  these  ?     Already  seems 
The  car  of  retribution  rolling  near. 

[  They  retire.     A  mob  enters. 


The  Riot.  27 

First  Rioter.  Throw  down  the  statues,  and  treat 
them  as  you'd  treat  the  men  they  stand  for. 

Second  Rioter.  Why  then  here  goes  my  sledge 
hammer  against  the  portly  legs  of  the  Emperor,  to 
bring  him  down  from  his  airy  grandeur,  that  he  may 
make  obeisance  to  his  mother  earth. 

Third  Rioter.  Man  and  wife  are  one,  they  say. 
Tis  fitting  the  Empress  should  share  the  fortunes  of 
her  high  and  mighty  lord,  as,  no  doubt,  she  has 
shared  his  counsels  and  has  had  a  hand  in  laying 
these  outrageous  imposts  upon  us.  \^Beats  down  the 
statue  of  the  Empress.']  Your  Majesty,  how  like  you 
a  lowly  life  ?  For  fear  the  rest  of  your  body  should 
be  scornful  toward  your  battered  and  broken  limbs, 
I'll  proceed  to  deal  a  few  blows  promiscuously. 
Zeus !  these  magnates  are  made  of  stuff  that  almost 
defeats  the  force  of  iron. 

Fourth  Rioter.  Next  comes  this  brazen  Governor, 
who,  when  we  march  to  his  mansion  and  implore  that 
he  will  abate  the  tax,  whines  out  that  he  is  only  a 
subordinate,  and  must  do  the  bidding  of  the  higher 
powers.  Down  with  thee,  tool  of  tyranny  ! 

Ringleader.  Clear  the  ground  of  the  whole  im 
pertinent  tribe  set  up  here  in  the  heart  of  your  city 
to  remind  you  that  you  are  slaves. 

Mob.  Down  with  oppression ! 


28  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Ringleader.  Down  with  the  taxes ! 
Mob.  Down  with  aristocracy  ! 
Ringleader.  So  far,  well.     Now  make  a  circle  and 
we'll  have  a  song : 

Said  the  Big  Man  who  sits 

On  the  wonderful  throne — 
1  Do  you  know,  my  dear  spouse, 

That  the  silver  is  gone  ? 
I'll  send  down  to  the  South 

To  those  Antioch  kine, 
And  supply  the  sad  drouth 

From  their  udders  so  fine.' — 

Wait  aiuhile,  little  man,  and  we'll  show  you  the  trick 
How  the  Antioch  kine  give  their  milkers  a  kick  ! 

Said  the  woman — *  My  lord, 

Get  enough  now,  I  pray ; 
I've  not  had  a  new  robe 

For  a  week  and  a  day : 
And  those  Antioch  dogs 

Lean  they  may  be  and  lame, 
But  in  forests  and  bogs 

They'll  find  plenty  of  game.' — 
Wait  awhile,  little  woman*  perhaps  you  are  right, 
But  the  Antioch  dogs  think  their  teeth  made  to  bite  ! 

Quoth  the  Governor — *  Heu  ! 

'Tis  a  pitiful  case  : 
I  must  fleece  my  poor  subjects 

Or  else  lose  my  place  ; 
But  the  Antioch  sheep, 


The  Riot.  29 

Though  they  bleat,  must  be  sheared ; 
With  the  rich  favor  keep — 

Nothing  then  need  be  feared.' — 
Wait  awhile ,  little  man,  you  may  witness  some  fun  ; 
For  the  Antioch  sheep  think  theh  legs  made  to  run  ! 

Quoth  the  princes — '  'Tis  vain 

To  deny  sober  facts  : 
We  were  made  just  to  rule 
And  the  rest  to  be  taxed. 
And  those  Antioch  mules 

Are  most  handy  and  tough — 
Only  mind  these  two  rules  : 

Starve  and  beat  them  enough.' 
Wait  awhile,  little  men,  for  when  you  say  Go  I 
The  tough  Antioch  mules  may  presume  to  say  No  ! 

Ringleader.  It  grows  dark.  I  know  of  sundry 
piles  of  timber  and  rags  that  would  burn  well  and 
give  us  light  enough  to  see  within  the  very  walls 
where  live  the  lofty  ones  whose  consciences  will  not  let 
them  join  the  enterprize.  How  much  sweeter  the 
sound  of  that  word  conscience  than  of  its  synonyme — 
cowardice. 

Mob.  Give  us  torches  and  we'll  illuminate. 

[  They  set  on  fire  several  dwellings  of  the  rich,  but 
are  attacked  by  the  military  ;  some  of  the  leaders  are 
arrested,  and  quiet  is  restored, .] 

Paul.  I  think  we  now  may  venture  forth ;  the  storm 
That  sent  us  here  for  shelter  is  o'erpast. 


30  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Sooth.   Haply  the  shower  is  over;  but  the  storm 
Is  just  beginning :  In  the  transient  lull 
Let  us  consult  discretion  and  fly  home. 


SCENE  II.— Outside  the  church  of  Chrysostom.     A 

multitude,  among  them  PAULUS  and  GLAUCUS. 

Glau.  We  shall  not  get  within  the  crowded  walls  : 
But  here  his  voice  may  reach  us. 

Paul.  Listen  now. 

Chrys.  I  warned  you,  citizens — myself  forewarned 
By  influence  from  above — in  vain.     A  gang 
Of  aliens  brought  the  pestilence  of  vice 
To  rage  and  ravage  here.     Unwise  and  weak, 
We  put  them  not  in  quarantine,  and  here 
Behold  we  lie  as  men  decreed  to  death. 
Imperial  wrath  aroused  may  swoop  with  wings 
Of  war  upon  our  city,  and  may  fix 
The  talons  of  its  vengeance  in  ourselves. 
But  I  upbraid  you  not.     I  bid  you  prove 
Repentance  now  by  courage  and  by  faith 
That  lifts  the  soul  above  tempestuous  times. 


After  the  Riot.  31 

I  bid  you  hope.    The  Emperor,  though  quick 

To  anger,  is  not  hard  of  heart.     To  him 

Already  flies  our  bishop,  Flavian, 

Whom  years,  and  feebleness,  and  heavy  cares 

Would  keep  at  home,  but  love  for  you  impels 

To  try  the  argument  with  Majesty. 

His  holy  countenance  and  snowy  locks 

Will  plead ;  and  in  his  voice  will  blend  the  tones 

Of  pathos  and  authority,  till  ire 

Within  the  royal  breast  will  yield  to  pity. 

I  bid  you  hope  \  for  here  may  each  and  all 

Address  the  MAJESTY  on  high,  who  turns 

The  hearts  of  kings,  as  streams  that  run  not  straight 

From  goal  to  goal  but  yield  to  many  a  check 

And  channel.     See  what  cause  for  gratitude 

Amidst  our  grief,  for  now  no  more  the  church 

Is  vacant,  while  the  street  is  full ;  no  more 

The  voice  of  sinful  revelry  confounds 

Our  songs  of  praise;  nor  seems  the  Sacrecl  Word 

An  empty  sound.     As  when  a  tempest  broods 

Dark  o'er  the  deep  the  wandering  craft  take  heed 

And  turn  their  prows  and  set  their  sails  to  seek 

Safe  harbor,  till  the  roadstead  void  and  still 

Becomes  a  populous  and  vocal  place, 

While  all  the  sea  is  desert — so  the  haunts 

Of  vice  and  idleness,  the  very  rqarts 


32  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Of  industry  are  left  to  solitude 

And  silence,  while  the  sanctuary  finds 

Not  room  enough  to  hold  its  guests,  and  truth 

Reverberates  in  every  conscience.     Now 

There  needs  no  tongue  to  tell  the  vanity 

Of  wealth  ;  for  while  the  rich,   distracted,  run 

To  make  some  safe  deposit  of  their  goods, 

The  light-equipped  are  ready  for  the  march. 

Oh  let  the  lesson  live  in  memory ; 

Nor  think  that  gold  can  bribe  the  King  of  kings 

And  bid  the  day  of  dissolution  welcome. 

When  prayers  are  answered  and  the  peril  past 

Let  not  your  hearts  forget  their  vows   and  turn 

Again  to  vanity. 

Glau.  The  air  is  stifling  : 

Come,  let  us  walk  and  talk  together. — Well, 
What  thought  you  of  our  famous  preacher,  John  ? 

Paul.  Of  him  I  thought  but  little  ;  of  the  words 
He  uttered  much  and  of  the  faith  sublime 
That  animates  his  soul.     The  piety 
That  gives  such  triumph  over  trouble  seems 
Of  priceless  worth  and  sprung  from  truth  divine. 

Glau.  'Tis  like  my  Paulus  thus  to  Speak,  in  spite 
Of  prejudice.     I  would  that  mine  had  been 
The  true  translation  of  the  word  of  Christ,  j 

To  teach  my  friend  the  way  and  truth  and  life. 


After  the  Riot.  33 

Paul.  Of  late  I  saw  and  felt  a  something  new 
And  not  of  earth,  whene'er  I  met  with  thee. 
The  gayety  was  gone,  but  in  its  place 
Appeared  such  tranquil  joy  and  purity 
As  if  a  babbling,  effervescent  rill 
Had  lost  itself  within  the  bosom  broad 
And  deep  of  some  bright  lake  wherein  the  heaven 
Doth  look  to  see  another  heaven. — What  means 
This  noise  of  wailing  and  of  prayer  that  grows 
More  loud  as  we  approach  the  Hall  of  Justice  ? 

Glau.  The  judges  whom  the  Emperor  deputes 
To  find  the  fountain-head  of  mutiny 
Sit  daily  in  the  Hall,  to  try  with  words 
And  tortures  all  who  are  accused,  or  whom 
They  reckon  cognizant  of  the  affair. 
The  great  and  small,  the  rich  and  poor  are  seized 
And  held  in  durance  ;  while,  without  the  court, 
A  crowd  of  sad  petitioners  pour  forth 
Their  tearful  lamentations  and  their  prayers. 

{Enter  Officers. 

First  Officer.  In  the  name  of  Theodosius,  Emper 
or,  we  arrest  you  for  treason. 

Glau.  and  Paul.     We  are  no  traitors. 

Second  Officer.  Ha !  you  cannot  skulk  under  a  lie 
as  you  skulked  in  the  shadow  of  the  arcade,  after 
taking  part  in  a  high-handed  outrage.  A  few  turns 


34  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

of  the  screw  will  be  likely  to  quicken  your  memories 
and  squeeze  out  of  your  lips  a  little  truth. 

Second  Officer.  Along  with  you  ! 

Glau.  A  better  One  than  we,  and  for  our  sake, 
Endured  the  lot  of  shame  and  suffering : 
The  thought  of  Him  shall  bring  relief  to  pain. 
\They  are  taken   into  the  Hall,     Enter  the  street  on 

horseback  the  judges ;  a  company  of  monks ,  with 

Macedonius  at  their  head,  meeting  themJ\ 

Mac.  Alight,  oh  servants  of  an  earthly  lord, 
And  hear  the  mandates  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  ! 

Cces.  If  with  the  sword  and  spear  thou  didst  pre 
sume 

To  stay  our  progress,  or  didst  use  the  name 
Of  human  potentate  to  give  thy  word 
Authority,  the  answer  should  be  made 
Of  scorn  and  steel ;  but  in  thy  coarse  attire 
And  wasted  form  and  sanctity  of  mien 
We  recognize  supreme  prerogative. 

\They  dismount. 

Mac.  Suspend  the  sword ;  and  bid  your  sovereign 

think 

Although  a  master  he  is  but  a  man  ; 
And  those  whom  he  arrests  are  men,  whom  God 
Hath  made  in  his  own  image.     If,  to  break 
The  brazen  statue  of  the  Emperor 


Easter.  35 

Be  criminal,  what  greater  crime  to  break 
Remorselessly  the  living  statue  formed 
In  likeness  of  the  Lord  !     A  little  gold 
Will  mould  again  the  now  demolished  brass, 
But  with  what  price  shall  grief  restore  the  lives 
That  rash  revenge  so  easily  destroyed  ? 

Cces  and  Helleb.  Your  words  are  oracles,  and  till 

they  reach 

The  royal  ears  and  bring  response,  our  work 
Shall  have  an  intermission. 

Mac.  Pax  vobiscum.  {Exeunt. 


SCENE  \\\.-The  Church  on  the  morning  of  Easter. 

Enter  Bishop   FLAVIAN,   CHRYSOSTOM,  PAULUS, 

GLAUCUS  and  people. 
Chrys.  When  o'er  us  hung  the  heavy  clouds  of 

fear 

I  bade  you  praise  the  Lord,  the  ever  good, 
Nor  surfer  faith  to  fail.     The  clouds  are  past ; 
The  skies  are  full  of  cheer  !     As  when  the  hearts 
That  seemed  but  dead  and  sepulchred  with  Christ 


36  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

With  him  arose,  rejoicing  over  death, 

So,  on  this  Easter  morn,  our  spirits  spring 

Elastic  from  the  darkness  into  light. 

When  first  the  hand  of  retribution  fell, 

The  great  and  rich — in  other  days  so  proud 

And  potent — thought  alone  of  speedy  flight 

And  safety  for  their  goods :  but  men  unknown, 

Unarmed  and  poor,  save  for  their  faith  in  God, 

Made  haste  to  bring  us  help  ;  they  stayed  our  doom, 

Then  vanished  back  from  unfamiliar  scenes 

To  their  accustomed  hills  and  trees  and  caves. 

As  angels  came  they,  and  as  angels  went. 

And  now  returns,  to  crown  our  festival, 

The  shepherd  who,  to  save  his  flock,  deemed  not 

His  own  life  dear,  but  braved  the  boisterous  seas, 

The  wintry  cold,  the  Emperor's  kindled  wrath. 

As  Moses  pleaded,  <  Save  the  people,  LORD, 

Or  let  me  perish  with  them  ! '     So  hath  he, 

Our  father  Flavian,  implored  for  us ; 

And  not  in  vain  ;  he  brings  this  royal  letter : 

[Reads.} 

*  The  Lord  of  worlds  for  our  sake  took  the  form  of  a  serv 
ant  ;  and  for  those  who  nailed  him  to  the  cross  he  prayed  :  "  Fa 
ther,  forgive  them  !  "  What  great  thing  is  it  if  they  who  are 
mere  men  forgive  the  injuries  inflicted  by  those  who  are  their 
fellow-servants  ?  The  Emperor  freely  pardons  the  offences  of 
his  Antioch  subjects,  in  the  hope  that  his  clemency  may  not  be 


Easter.  37 

i 

lost  upon  them  and  that  he  himself  may  find  mercy  with  the 
Supreme  Monarch.  THEODOSIUS,  Emperor.' 

{Outbreak  of  joy.] 
Let  gratulation  rise  to  gratitude 
And  fill  the  numbers  of  our  Easter  hymn. 


We  sing  of  a  Saviour  ascended. 

On  earth  once  our  sorrows  he  bore ; 
But  the  shame  and  the  grief  are  now  ended, 
He  shall  reign  and  rejoice  evermore. 
Hallelujah  let  us  sing  ! 

Not  sweet  spices  for  the  dead 
But  the  palm  and  sceptre  bring, 

Crown  the  King  and  Conqueror's  head  ! 

He  hath  broken  death's  ancient  dominion ; 

'Tis  no  longer  a  terror  to  die. 
With  the   strength  of  his  sky-piercing  pinion 
Our  hopes  he  hath  lifted  on  high. 

Praise  the  Lord  of  life  and  light ! 

Lo  an  empty  tomb  is  here ; 
Where  the  Christ  hath  winged  his  flight 
All  that  love  him  shall  appear. 

He  has  gone  to  his  Capital  splendid 
Not  as  one  might  the  conflict  forsake, 

But  that  we,  by  his  succors  befriended, 
May  in  warfare  his  triumph  partake. 


38  The  Mouth  of  Gold.     % 

Praise  the  source  of  strength  and  grace, 
Rich  in  mercy,  clothed  with  power ! 

Though  we  see  not  now  his  face 
He  is  with  us  every  hour. 

When  the  forces  of  nature  do  mutiny, 

When  around  us  are  riot  and  rage, 
When  God's  law  bids  us  quail  'neath  its  scrutiny, 
He  our  sorrow  and  dread  doth  assuage. 
For  the  quiet  of  our  state, 

For  the  quelling  of  our  fear, 
For  our  hope  and  joy  elate 
Sing  we  hallelujahs  here  ! 


III. 

PERSONS    REPRESENTED. 


CHRYSOSTOM. 

EUTROPIUS,  Prime  Minister. 
EUDOXIA,  Empress. 
OLYMPIAS,  A  deaconess. 

SCENE.— Constantinople. 
TIME.— A.  D.  398. 


SCENE  L — Room  in  the  Royal  Palace. 
Enter  EUTROPIUS  and  EUDOXIA. 

Eut.  My  pretty  Empress,  I  have  caught  and  caged 
For  thee  a  singing  bird  whose  fluent  notes — 
Albeit  sometimes  sharp  and  shrill — might  move 
The  envy  of  the  Attic  groves.     Commend 
Thy  servant's  zeal  and  make  his  gift  right  welcome. 

Eud.  Arch  plotter,  what  new  feat  hast  thou  ac 
complished  ? 

Eut.  Oh  nothing  to  be  named  beside  the  feat 
That  won  me  reputation. 

Eud.  What  was  that  ? 

Eut.  To  teach  an  orphan  maiden,  young  and  fair, 
Her  place  upon  a  height  imperial; 
To  teach  an  Emperor  her  charms  to  choose 
In  place  of  hers  to  whom  he  was  betrothed — 
The  daughter  of  his  Minister,  Rufinus  ; 
And  when  the  proud  Prime  Minister  returned 
From  Antioch,  flushed  with  hope  which  he  had  bought 
By  bloodshed — when  the  wedding-day  was  come 
And  all  the  city  blossomed  forth  in  joy, 
And  myriad  eyes,  half-dazed  with  splendor,  turned 


42  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Expectant  toward  the  great  Rufinus'  house — 

To  pass  that  stately  mansion  by,  and  bear 

The  royal  gifts  within  Eudoxia's  door, 

And  lead  her  forth,  with  her  own  beauty  crowned, 

Amidst  the  chorus  of  a  populace 

Admiring  and  amazed ;  and  so  to  see 

The  orphan  queen  of  more  than  half  the  world ! 

Live  I  an  age  and  with  invention  vex 

My  days  and  nights,  never  another  prize 

So  rich  shall  compensate  my  pains. 

Eud.  My  lord, 

You  do  yourself  injustice  when  you  place 
This  vaunted  exploit  highest  on  your  list. 

Eut.  Why  what  could  higher  stand  ? 

End.  To  take  a  slave 

Whom  masters  could  not  keep,  and  whom  at  last 
An  officer  bestowed  upon  his  daughter 
As  one  whose  cunning  hand  was  fit  to  braid 
Her  flowing  tresses  and  to  dress  her  head  ; 
To  take  this  deft  and  dangerous  chattel  out 
From  bondage  and  advance  him,  step  by  step, 
Till  he  should  reach  a  round  o'erlooking  all 
The  lords  and  princes  of  the  land — nay  more, 
Should  make  the  throne  itself  subordinate, 
Enact  the  policy,  and  sell  for  gold 
The  offices  in  all  the  realm,  depose, 


The  Court.  43 

Imprison  and  confiscate,  at  his  will — • 
To  him  who  wrought  this  marvel  I  award 
The  meed  of  genius  unapproachable  ! 

Eut.  Your  majesty  is  pleased  to  flatter  me. 

Eiid.  Do  I  not  know  what  wily  purpose  planned 
To  make  me  Majesty  ?     Rufinus,  foul 
With  murder  of  my  guardian,  was  my  foe  : 
If  I  should  rise  then  he  must  fall ;  and  thou 
By  lifting  me  shouldst  win  the  vacancy. 
Because  my  face  was  fair  and  fortune  smiled 
The  scheme  succeeded  :  I  am  Empress;  thou 
Prime  Minister;  Rufinus — 

Eut.  Stay,  I  like          .._,«*#£ 

Not  well  to  hear  of  him. 

Eud.  'Tis  certain  quite 

That//w#  him  thou  wilt  never  hear,  unless 
Dead  men  return  to  life.     The  daughter  must, 
If  still  she  lives,  admire  thee  much  ! 

Eut.  A  truce. 

Why  do  you  not  inquire  about  my  bird  ? 

Eud.  Your  bird  indeed  !    He  wears  a  golden  name 
And  waits  to  wear  the  plumage  of  a  bishop. 
I  heard  to-day  of  his  arrival  here. 

Eut.  Not  willingly  did  Antioch  give  her  son, 
To  grace  the  grand  metropolis ;  and  he 
Was  proof  against  persuasion  :  but  the  men 


44  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

We  sent  had  orders  absolute  to  bring 
Him  hither, though  by  stratagem  or  force. 
A  message  summoned  him  outside  the  town, 
And  there  a  carriage  waited.     Thrust  within, 
His  angry  questions  Why?  and  Whither?  met 
A  bland  but  blind  response,  till  far  away 
The  city  had  receded — left  to  learn 
Its  loss  upon  the  morrow,  when  the  ship 
That  bore  our  bishop  should  her  sails  expand 
To  reach  the  port  that  never  knew  a  peer. 

End.  'Twas  managed  cleverly ;  and  we  will  make 
The  captive  so  contented  he  shall  sing 
His  sweetest  notes.     No  music  to  my  ear 
So  pleasing  as-  the  eloquence  inspired 
By  sacred  truth.     Besides,  I  do  confess 
Our  worldly,  venal  priesthood  need  the  curb 
This  rigid  hand  will  ply.     Tell  him,  at  once, 
The  Emperor  and  I  must  welcome  him. 
How,  think  you,  will  the  proud  Theophilus, 
Of  Alexandria,  bear  to  see  a  man 
Like  this  made  Metropolitan,  in  place 
Of  one  compliant  whom  he  might  employ 
To  serve  his  plans  at  court  ? 

Eut.  'Twill  vex  him  sore. 

Bid  him  attend  the  consecration  here: 
If  he  refuse  to  come,  or  to  confirm 


Olympias.  45 

The  rite,  I  know  a  method  magical 
To  break  his  stubborn  will. 

End.  What  is  the  magic  ? 

Eut.  A  certain  passage  of  his  history, 
Recorded  on  a  parchment,  which  divulged 
Would  serve  his  honors  like  a  sudden  frost 
That  makes  the  shining  leaf  a  faded  rag. 

Eud.  What  should  I  do  without  Eutropius  ? 

[Exit  EUT. 

And  yet  I  tremble  lest  his  love  of  gold 
And  power  should  teach  him  treachery  to  me. 


SCENE  II.— Room  in  the  Bishops  Palace— CHRYSOS- 

TOM  at  study. 
Enter  a  priestly  attendant. 

Aft.  Olympias,  who  serves  the  church  so  well, 
Desires  to  see  thee. 

Chrys.  Stay,  till  thou  hast  told, 

More  perfectly  than  I  have  learned  as  yet 
Her  character  and  life. 

Att.  Of  noble  birth 

And  rich  and  beautiful,  she  early  knew 
An  orphan's  lot,  but  learned  from  Christian  lips 


46  The  Month  of  Gold. 

The  law  of  piety  ;  and  when,  alas, 

A  brief-time  bride,  bereavement  broke  her  heart, 

'Twas  even  like  the  breaking  of  the  box 

Of  alabaster  at  the  Master's  feet : 

For  all  her  store  of  wealth  and  richer  store 

Of  love  were  made  an  offering  to  the  Lord, 

And  with  the  fragrance  of  her  holy  life 

And  kindly  deeds  the  region  round  was  filled. 

The  Emperor  Theodosius  thought  her  mad 

To  make  such  sacrifice  while  yet  so  young ; 

And  that  her  property  might  bide  the  time 

Of  her  recovery,  he  locked  it  fast 

Beneath  a  guardian's  key.     Her  ready  thanks 

For  such  relief  as  left  her  free  to  run 

With  lightsome  step  along  the  heavenly  path, 

His  purpose  changed  :  he  gave  the  treasures  back. 

Which  she  received  indifferent,  like  some  peak 

Aloft  that  takes  the  clouds,  not  drinking  them 

But  sending  lavish  currents  down  to  drench 

The  thirsty  lowlands,     Others  idly  feast 

And  flourish  on  her  gifts ;  her  garb  is  coarse 

Her  fare  is  meagre  and  her  life  a  cross. 

Our  church  has  not  another  minister 

Who  serves  with  self-denial  so  intense. 

Chrys.  The  church  makes  men  of  women  ;  while 
the  world 


Olympian.  47 

Makes  women  those  who  should  be  men.     The  fops 

Who  promenade  with  painted  cheeks,  curled  locks 

And  leer  of  license,  give  you  these  the  name 

That  signifies  self-rule  and  courage,  strength 

To  do  and  suffer  ?     'Twere  profanity  ! 

We'll  call  the  weaklings  women  if  the  word 

Be  not  too  pure  and  dignified.     And  they 

Who  in  a  woman's  body  bear  a  heart 

So  stout  the  devil  cannot  conquer  it, 

Nor  fear  of  death  nor  tortures  such  as  those 

The  mother  of  the  Macabees  endured 

When  in  her  presence  all  her  sons  were  slain — 

Oh  call  them  men  if  in  that  word  is  power 

To  tell  what  virtue  grace  divine  bestows 

Upon  the  weak.     In  Hebrew  times  there  lived 

A  race  of  manly  women  •  on  the  steps 

Of  Christ  and  Paul  such  women  waited,  true 

When  trusted  men  were  false.     Thank  God  He  gives 

Us  here  such  helpers.     Bid  Olympias  come. 

{Enter  OLYMPIAS. 

I  greet  thee  as  a  woman  whom  the  Lord 
In  love  hath  led  to  choose  the  better  part. 

Olym.  To  thee  I  yield  the  reverence  due  to  one 
Who  fills  with  holy  zeal  a  holy  office. 
If  all  were  like  thee  !     But  alas,  the  crime 
Of  that  bad   king  in  Persia's  capital 


48  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Who  in  the  golden  chalices  that  once 

Had  served  Jehovah's  temple  drank  the  wine 

Of  wassail, is  repeated  oft  by  men 

Who  make  their  priesthood  servant  of  their  sin. 

Thy  predecessor  here,  Nectarius, 

Too  fond  of  gain  and  luxury  himself, " 

Gave  not  good  heed  to  his  subordinates. 

I  would  not  censure  ;  but  thy  light  hath  made 

The  dark  appear  more  palpable  and  sad. 

Chrys.  Lady,    I    prize    thy   praise   but  need   thy 

prayers  : 

Myself  a  man  imperfect,  set  to  rule 
O'er  men  of  envy,  fickleness  and  greed. 
The  indolent  resent  our  call  to  prayer 
That  steals  an  hour  from  sleep ;  the  covetous 
Lament  their  revenues  reduced  to  build 
A  hospital  for  strangers ;  and  the  lax 
In  morals  hate  the  hand  that  would  restrain. 
The  church  scarce  more  alive  than  dead — the  court 
Corrupt — society  a  pestilence — 
What  wonder  if  I  sometimes  cry  with  him 
W7ho  prophesied  in  old  Jerusalem  : 
'  Oh  that  my  head  were  waters  and  mine  eyes 
A  fount  of  tears  that  I  might  weep  the  slain 
By  day  and  night.'     Amidst  applause  I  preach 
To  those  who  gather  in  the  house  of  God 


Olympias.  49 

With  vain  display  of  robes  and  retinue, 
And  who  depart  the  place  to  find 
New  entertainment  at  the  games,  where  oft 
With  folly  meet  debauchery  and  shame. 
I  would  I  were  once  more  an  eremite 
Amidst  the  wilds,  less  rude  to  me  than  pomp 
And  vice  in  Constantine's  proud  capital ! 

Olym.  Flee  not,  like  Jonah,  from  the  call  of  God 
Who  bids  thee  to  this  Nineveh  proclaim 
His  messages  of  mercy  and  of  woe. 
Nor  think  thy  work  in  vain :   ajready  rise 
A  multitude  to  call  thee  blessed.     More 
And  more  the  bad  shall  fear  thee  and  the  good 
Be  comforted. 

Chrys.  Forgive  the  fretfulness 

That  courts  reproof  from  kindly  lips  like  thine. 
I  will  resume  my  office  and  inquire 
What  service  I  may  render  thee. 

Olym.  My  friend 

And  father,  I  would  lay  on  thee  the  load 
That  wealth  inherited  hath  laid  on  me. 
At  once  relieve  my  anxious  thought  and  rid 
My  conscience  of  a  snare  :  for  vanity 
Full  oft,  with  cunning  malice,  whispers  me  : 
What  merit  in  thy  large  beneficence  ! 
As  statues  stand  the  chu  ches  thou  hast  built , 


50  The  Month  of  Gold. 

The  hospitals  by  thez  endowed.     Thy  gifts 
To  rich  and  poor  are  destined  to  embalm 
Thy  memory.     Help  me  to  wrest  away 
This  weapon  from  the  fiendish  hand  that  fain 
Would  slay  my  soul. 

Chrys.  Thy  talent  is  thine  own, 

To  use  but  not  transfer.     In  open  fight, 
And  not  evasively,  thy  soul  must  win 
Its  amaranthine  wreath  of  victory. 

Olym.  Why   then,   if  thou  decline  the  proffered 

trust 

Til  make  all  comers  free  to  take  the  store 
Of  wealth  that  cumbers  me,  till  all  is  gone. 

Chrys.  '  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  food, 
Was  naked  and  ye  clothed  me  : '  how  shall  Christ 
Address  such  words  to  thee  if  carelessly 
Thou  give  to  those  who  have  enough, and  lose 
Thereby  the  power  to  help  the  destitute  ? 

Olm.  I  had  not  thought  of  that,  but  of  the  scorn 
Which  piety  should  put  on  earthly  goods. 

Chrys.  ( With  earthly  mammon   win    a   heavenly 

home/ 

The  Master  saith.     Full  soon  the  tent  will  fall 
That  gives  thy  too  impetuous  spirit  shelter, 
And  thou  wilt  need  the  friends  thy  charity 
Hath  made,  to  welcome  thee  within 


Olympias.  5 1 

An  everlasting  and  celestial  house. 

Olym.  As  if  an  angel  spake  I  hear  thy  words  : 
Oh  teach  me  alway  what  is  right. 

Farewell. 

[Exit  OLYMPIAS. 

Chrys.    {To  attendant.]    If  ever  thou  incline  to  lose 

thy  faith 

In  human  virtue  or  in  heavenly  grace 
I  bid  thee  think  of  her  and  such  as  she. 

Att.  I  do  not  doubt  thy  words  to  her  were  wise ; 
But  if  she  follow  them  and  scant  the  gifts 
That  make  the  rich  more  rich,  resentment  vile 
Will  couple  scandal  with  her  name  and  thine. 
JTis  history  inspires  the  prophecy. 

Chrys.  I  will  not  think  ingratitude  so  base 
That  it  can  wrong  a  saint  like  her  unsullied. 

Att.  Heaven  justify  thy  generous  unbelief! 


IV. 
PERSONS    REPRESENTED. 


CHRYSOSTOM,  EUTROPIUS,  EUDOXIA,  OLYMPIAS, 
ARCADIUS,  Emperor. 
Attendant  and  Officer. 

SCENE.— Constantinople. 
TIME.— A.  D.  400. 


SCENE  I.— Room  in  the  Royal  Palace. 
Enter  ARCADIUS  and  EUTROPIUS. 

Eut.  This  traitor,  Tribigild,  with  all  his  Goths, 
From  Phrygia  is  moving  like  a  cloud 
Of  wrath  ;  and  Gainas  whom  we  sent  to  stay 
The  storm  augments  it,  joining  force  to  force. 

Arc.  They  send  a  messenger  to  bring  the  terms 
Of  their  withdrawal  hence  in  amity. 

Eut.  I   know    the    terms    proposed :     Betray  thy 

friend  j 

Consent  to  be  a  ruler  but  in  name, 
While  ruffians  and  barbarians  usurp 
The  true  authority ;  in  place  of  me, 
Accept  the  minister  they  nominate, 
And  thou  shalt  have  their  pledge  of  peace — a  pledge 
Whose  worth  is  weighty  as  their  honor  is ! 
Make  haste  to  seize  the  bait,  forgetting  risk 
Of  future  vengeance  from  a  man  whose  wit 
Hath  made  and  may  unmake  a  monarch's  fortune. 

Arc.  Content.     Prime  Minister  thou  shalt  remain 
Though  devils  join  the  foes  that  plot  thy  fall. 


54  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Eut.  There  speaks  an  Emperor.     My  deeds  shall 

tell 
My  gratitude.     What  man  can  do  will  I. 

\Exit  EUTROPIUS.     Enter  military  officer. 

Off.  Your  Majesty,  the  frantic  populace 
Are  surging  at  the  palace  gates.     They  cry 
'  Down  with  Eutropius  !     Give  the  worthless  slave 
To  be  an  offering  for  the  nation's  life  ! ' 

[Enter  EUDOXIA,  leading  her  two  children. 

Eud.  The  peril  is  most  imminent!     Without, 
A  horde  of  heathen  congregate  in  arms  ; 
Infuriate  rebellion  rocks  the  city. 
And  here,  within  our  residence,  we  keep 
The  guilty  cause  of  our  calamity. 
By  all  the  loyalty  a  nation  claims 
From  thee,  its  head  ;  by  all  thy  love  of  life 
And  regal  state ;  by  all  the  argument 
The  helplessness  of  children  can  address 
To  move  a  father's  heart,  and  by  the  vows 
That  made  thee  mine,  to  cherish  and  defend  me, 
I  do  implore  thee  give  Eutropius  up 
To  sate  the  raging  appetite  of  vengeance. 

Arc.  I  thought  thou  didst  regard  him  as  a  friend. 

Eud.  I  feared  him,  and  I  felt  his  subtle  skill 
To  fascinate  whom  he  would  make  his  prey : 
Eut  lately  he  has  grown  so  insolent 


77/tf  Invasion.  55 

'Of  manner  and  his  speech  so  menacing, 
I  hail  the  tempest  that  may  shake  him  off — 
The  fire  wherein  this  viper  may  be  burned. 

Arc.  My  word  is  pledged  to  keep  him  safe  from 
harm. 

End.  Oh,   thou  hast  pledges   earlier   and    more 

sacred. 

Behold  the  partner  of  thy  throne  falls  down 
A  suppliant  at  its  footstool,  and  her  tears, 
So  hot  with  love's  intensity  that  ice 
Would  be  inflamed  beneath  them,  urge  my  suit, 
And,  moved  by  sympathy,  and  fear,  these  babes 
With  bitter  cry  appeal  to  thee  for  help. 

Arc.  Arise  ;  I  am  a  man,  not  adamant 
Nor  metal  to  resist  such  melting  pleas. 
Eutropius  must  die,  unless  for  him 
Escape  should  open  from  the  frenzied  mob 
And  unrelenting  soldiers  to  the  place 
Where  fugitives,  though  tracked  by  justice,  find 
Security. 

Eud.  Behold  the  meet  reward 
Of  cruelty  and  crime  !     The  ancient  law 
Of  sanctuary  was  contemned  by  him 
Who  fain  would  find  asylum  now  beneath 
The  altar  of  the  house  of  God  ;  and  when 
Our  holy  bishop  would  not  yield  the  lives 


The  Month  of  Gold. 

This  impious  slave  desired,  thy  hand  was  moved 

To  sign  the  law's  repeal.     The  door  is  shut ! 

For  him  who  showed  no  mercy  there  remains 

No  mercy  more.  [To  the  officer, 

Arc.  Assure  the  citizens 

That  their  demands  shall  meet  compliance.     So 
May  peace  return  to  our  distracted  state.       [Exeunt. 


SCENE  IL—The  Cathedral. 

EUTROPIUS  at  the  Altar.      CHRYSOSTOM  discoursing 
from  the  pulpit  to  the  people. 

I  bade  you  write  on  all  things  vanity  ; 

On  beauty,  splendor,  wealth  and  noisy  fame. 

But  in  the  peaceful,  prosperous  days  my  words 

Were  lost,  like  arrows  shot  into  the  sea. 

Lo  here  a  sermon  superseding  all 

My  lips  would  say.     The  tree  that  flourished  fair 

Is  stripped  of  leaves  and  stands  a  naked  trunk. 

Where  is  the  light  that  blazed  refulgent  round 

The  courtier's  steps  ?  Where  now  the  cheers  that  rang 

Whene'er  the  race-course  or  the  theatre 

Was  graced  and  gladdened  by  his  presence  ?   Where 

The  friends  who  wafted  praises  to  his  power 


The   Altar.  57 

As  incense  to  a  god  ?     It  was  a  dream  ! 
The  light  has  dawned,  the  vapor  vanishes  ! 

\To  EUTROPIUS. 

Oh  man,  I  mock  thee  not, but  cite  thee  here 
A  witness  for  the  truth.     Thou  hadst  an  idol : 
Invoke  thine  idol,  money,  now  to  save  thee. 
Alas,  it  would  have  murdered  thee.     The  church 
Thou  didst  revile,  its  ministry  didst  menace  ; 
Its  altars  thou  didst  seek  to  bar  against 
Misfortune  and  misdeed  :  the  first  to  seek 
Forbidden  shelter  is  thyself!     Race-course 
And  theatre  which  thou  didst  patronize 
Resound  the  cry :  Give  up  the  wretch  to  death  ! 
Thy  boon  companions  are  thine  enemies  : 
Thy  friends  are  they  who  felt  thy  biting  scorn  : 
Thy  safe  asylum  is  the  hated  church. 
Oh  hadst  thou  heeded  wisdom's  voice  !  but  now 
Thou  liest  abject  and  undone. 

Kind  friends, 

The  world's  defeat  is  triumph  to  Christ's  church. 
Her  glory  is  to  shield  the  weak,whate'er 
The  hostile  forces  that  encompass  them. 
The  people,  Emperor  and  army  stand 
Arrayed  against  this  cunning  criminal : 
Be  ours  the  task  to  turn  their  rage  to  pity. 
Say  not  that  penitence  will  not  suffice 


5'8  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

To  cleanse  the  guilt  of  his  rapacity; 

Say  not  his  touch  pollutes  the  sacred  altar. 

A  sinner  washed  the  Saviour's  feet  unblamed. 

And  who  is  he  can  pray  ( Father  forgive 

As  I  forgive]  while  harboring  revenge  ? 

Come,  while  I  seek  the  Emperor,  implore 

With  humble  hearts  the  King  who  reigns  supreme 

That  He  will  give  this  trophy  to  our  altar. 

\Clamor  of  troops  without,  crying,  'Surrender  the  rol- 

.ber  !      Give  him  up,  or  we  will  raze  the  house  to 

the  ground?} 

Be  not  affrighted,  for  the  Lord  is  here  : 
The  ship  that  Jesus  sails  in  cannot  sink. 


SCENE  III.— A  Room  in  Olympiad  House. 

Olym.  How  like  a  solitude  the  city  seems 
Since  Chrysostom  is  absent.     As,  if  rain 
Or  sunshine  be  withdrawn,  the  earth  grows  sad 
And  sere,  though  all  the  elements  beside 
Fulfil  their  functions — we  that  serve  with  him 
Do  thirst  and  droop  until  his  beaming  face 
Return  and  on  our  hearts  the  showers  shall  fall 
Of  his  refreshing  eloquence.  '  We  chide 


The  Mission.  59 

The  zeal  that  bade  him  brave  the  boisterous  seas 
And  penetrate  the  camp  of  barbarous  men. 
And  yet  how  noble  and  how  like  himself! 
For  vile  Eutropius  he  was  moved  to  plead, 
Till  death,  decreed,  gave  place  to  banishment: 
No  wonder  that  for  those  who  well  had  served 
The  state  but  whom  the  angry  Goths  had  doomed 
To  die,  his  dauntless  heart  should  prompt  this  deed 
Of  dangerous  enterprise.     HAND  that  dost  hold 
The  deep  and  hold  the  souls  of  men — kind  HEART 
That  dost  regard  our  sad  solicitude — 
MIND  that  dost  plan  the  welfare  of  Thy  church, 
Oh  give  the  faithful  pastor  sure  defence ; 
Make  Thou  his  mission  prosperous ;  give  him 
The  lives  for  which  his  own  he  perils ;  bring 
The  wanderer  safely,  surely  home  !   'Tis  well 
These  walls  are  trusty  ;  else  my  meditations, 
My  very  prayers,  if  breathed  aloud,  would  be, 
To  men  impure  and  envious,  my  accusers. 
Oh  evil  and  ungrateful  days,  when  vows 
Of  consecration,  witnessed  by  a  life 
Of  self-denying  zeal,  impose  no  check 
On  slander.     Oh  ignoble  souls  that  make 
The  purest  friendship  but  a  vulgar  love, 
As  waters  dull  and  darkened  do  display 
A  dull  and  darkened  picture  of  the  sky, 

{Enter  Attendant. 


60  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Att.  Madame,  our  bishop  is  come  home  and  brings 
From  Tribigild  and  Gainas  pardon  free 
To  them  who  wrought  no  wrong  but  whom  revenge 
For  justice  done  by  them  condemned  to  death. 

Olym.  The  news  is  pleasant  and   I  thank  thee 
for  it. 

Att.  I   thought   thou  wouldst   have    clapped  thy 

hands  and  cried 

For  joy,  when  even  I,  who  know  him  less, 
Was  half  beside  myself  with  ecstasy. 

Olym.  We  must  not  suffer  feeling  to  o'erflow 
The  bounds  of  safe  sobriety,  nor  fail 
In  joyful  times  to  think  how  soon  some  grief 
May  follow  and  consume  our  joy. 

Att.  To  pour 

Away  the  sparkling  foam  from  fortune's  cup 
And  let  the  liquor  cool  before  I  quaffed  it 
I  should  not  like. 

Olym.  We  will  not  quarrel,  child  ; 

Go  you  and  join  the  general  concourse  ;  give 
The  holy  man  my  greeting.     I  will  see  him  soon. 

Att.  [aside.}  She   should  have  welcomed   him  at 

once, 
With  her  own  lips,  and  not  with  mine  instead,   [Exit. 

Olym.  Now,  grateful   heart,  teach  thou   my  lips 
to  sing, 


The  Mission.  6 1 

.Till  prudence  shall  release  my  tethered  steps 
And  give  me  leave,  imblamedby  jealous  eyes, 
To  look  upon  my  father  and  my  friend. 

From  the  wilderness  and  wave, 

From  the  hosts  of  armed  men, 
lie  who  went  the  doomed  to  save 

Safe  himself  returns  again. 

Welcome  him  ! 

Rich  and  potent,  whom  his  voice 

Warns  of  peril,  tells  of  peace, 
Wins  to  make  the  better  choice — 

Rank  and  wealth  that  ne'er  will  cease — 
Welcome  him ! 

Ye  that  pine  in  poverty, 

Ye  that  feel  oppression's  rod, 
Hail  your  helper  joyfully  ; 

With  thanksgivings  unto  God 

Welcome  him ! 

Flock,  for  whom  the  shepherd  cares 

With  a  thoughtful,  constant  love, 
For  his  toils  and  tears  and  prayers 

With  the  glad  procession  move ; 

Welcome  him  ! 

Chosen  sharers  of  his  joy, 

Of  his  labor  and  his  grief, 
As  ye  prize  the  high  employ 

In  his  greeting  be  ye  chief; 

Welcome  him  ! 


V. 

PERSONS   REPRESENTED. 


CHRYSOSTOM,  PAULUS,  FLAVIAN,  GLAUCUS,  OLYMPIAS. 
THEODORA,  a  Deaconess. 
Bishops •,  Officers  and  Messengers. 

SCENE. — Constantinople  and  neighborhood. 
TIME.— A.  D.  403. 


SCENE  I.— Room  in  the  Bishop's  Palace. 
Enter  CHRYSOSTOM,  PAULUS  and  FLAVIAN, 

Chrys.  \To  Paulus.}    To   look   upon  thee  is   to 

see  again 

My  native  city  with  its  hills  surrounded  ; 
The  river  winding  through ;  the  long  arcade, 
With  marble  paved,  with  people  dense ;  the  church 
Where  first  I  found  my  voice  and  felt  the  thrill 
Of  thoughts  enkindled  by  the  listening  throng. 
It  is  to  live  again  the  years  of  youth, 
Whose  memory  is  tender  as  the  light 
Of  evening  or  the  notes  of  distant  music. 
Where  is  the  youth  we  loved — to  me  a  son, 
To  you  a  brother  and  a  guide  ? 

Paul.  You  speak 

Of  Glaucus  ?     He  who  sometime  trod 
The  treacherous  ways  of  pleasure  numbers  now 
His  prayers  within  the  hollow  mountain  side, 
And  makes  his  hermitage  the  haunt  of  thoughts 
As  high  above  this  sensual  earth  as  are 
The  paths  of  eagles  over  sordid  dust. 


64  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Chrys.  A  blessed  choice — the  company  of  God    » 
And  peace,  in  lieu  of  uproar  and  the  strife 
With  wicked  men !     Why  was  it  not  thine  own  ? 

Paul.  I  sought  indeed  the  solitude, but  felt 
An  impulse  such  as  sent  Saint  Christopher 
To  seek  some  active  labor  that  might  serve 
His  God.     Not  mine,  like  his,  a  giant's  strength  ; 
Yet  haply  might  I  ferry  o'er  the  flood 
Some  feeble  pilgrim  to  the  promised  land. 
And  therefore  am  I  come,  in  hope  that  he 
Who  first  my  errant  footsteps  led  aright 
Will  show  me  now  the  work  that  waits  for  me, 
And  teach  me  how  I  may  perform  it  well. 
And  Flavian,  who  in  Rome  the  pearl  of  price 
Obtained,  from  Alexandrian  schools  resorts 
To  thee  for  wisdom  and  authority, 
To  help  the  triumph  of  the  sacred  cause. 

Chrys.  I  greet  you  as  my  brethren  much  beloved. 
'  The  harvest  fields  are  white,  the  laborers  few : ' 
From  far  Phoenicia,  with  its  idol  groves, 
From  barbarous  Goths  among  the  German  wilds, 
From  multitudes  of  heathen  here  at  home, 
And  half-instructed,  faltering  followers 
Of  Christ,  the  Macedonian  message  comes. 
Oh  were  an  apostolic  zeal  the  mark 
Of  all  who  bear  the  name  of  laborers ! 


The   Meeting.  65 

Alas,  the  idle  and  the  covetous 
Encumber  even  our  too  slender  ranks. 

Fla.  We  would  be  taught  what  arguments  to  use 
With  unbelieving  and  with  wayward  men. 

Chrys.  All  other  arguments  are  weak  and  vain 
Beside  the  logic  of  a  holy  life. 
The  eloquence  of  speech  is  mean  compared 
With  that  of  conduct.     Lo,  '  the  heavens  are  still 
But  they  declare  the  glory  of  the  Lord.' 
Even  to  them  point  not  as  witnesses, 
But  to  the  new  creation  wrought  in  Christ 
Who  sets  discordant  souls  in  harmony, 
Fills  all  their  faculties  with  holy  light, 
And  lifts,  above  the  low  and  changeful  earth, 
A  radiant  and  immortal  heaven  of  hope. 
Not,  if  your  gifts  were  miracles — to  still 
The  storm  or  raise  the  dead — were  ye  so  armed 
As  with  consistency.     For  that  which  calms 
The  rage  of  passion  and  dissolves  the  spell 
That  binds  the  ethereal  spirit  in  the  dust 
Doth  demonstrate  itself  as  most  divine. 
Let  proud  refinement, with  its  rhetoric, 
Pronounce  apostles  and  evangelists 
Unfit  for  seats  among  philosophers, 
And  men  of  classic  lore.     A  rustic  sling, 
The  pebble  picked  from  out  the  running  brook, 


66  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

In  David's  hand  o'erthrew  the  giant  proud 
For  all  his  jointed  mail  and  ponderous  shield. 
Celestial  power, that  nerved  the  stripling's  arm, 
More    plain    appeared    because   the    means    were 

small. 

And  Christian  truth,  that  in  the  forehead  smites 
Iniquity,  proclaims  itself  from  God 
By  reason  of  its  very  artlessness. 
Its  weakness  is  its  strength ;  its  shame  its  glory. 
Oppose  malevolence  and  hate  with  love  : 
The  deed  of  love  shall  give  truth's  word  effect 
That  else  were  lost,  like  rain  upon  a  rock. 
Love  is  the  power  deific  that  can  make 
Of  stony  hearts  the  children  of  our  God. 
Spread  its  fine  net  to  catch  the  souls  astray : 
Lest  with  the  weapons  of  rebuke  and  scorn 
You  scare  them  into  regions  far  remote, 
Forever  wandering  and  forever  lost. 

Paul.  What  shall  we  say  to  those  who  measure 

faith 

By  rigid  rules  of  reason,  and  deny 
Whatever  is  broad  or  high  beyond  the  range 
Of  human  comprehension  ? 

Chrys.  Say  that  faith 

Is  propped  by  reason,  but  hath  wings  to  soar 
Above  it,  as  imagination  hath 


The  Meeting.  67 

To  leave  the  mathematic  bounds  of  sense. 
And  say  that  he  who  will  not  worship  save 
A  God  whom  reason  comprehendeth  well 
Must  idolize  mere  matter  or  mankind. 
Only  the  spirit  in  us  worshipped! 
The  Spirit  infinite. 

Paid.  And  what  to  those 

Who  call  themselves  f  the  pure '  and  bid  the  guilty, 
When  once  they  hear  the  church's  censure,  seek 
Her  altar  nevermore,  though  penitent  ? 

Chrys.  Say  that  a  sea  without  a  wave  to  wash 
The  shore  were  less  .a  wonder  than  a  soul 
Without  a  sin  ;  that  they  account  themselves 
More  pure  than  Paul  who  styled  himself  ( the  chief 
Of  sinners,'  and  forget  the  Master's  word  : 
1  Till  seven  times  seventy  if*  thy  brother  sin 
And  turn  again  repentantly,  forgive.' 
But  leave  the  lesson  here.     I  would  inquire 
What  tidings  Flavian  from  the  Orient  brings  ; 
For  dire  disasters,  flying  thence,  overcloud 
And  threaten  us.     Theophilus,  whom  I 
Forgave  for  envy,  caught  in  tricks  of  fraud, 
Raves  and  invents  revenge  on  every  side, 
Like  some  huge  monster  of  the  deep  that,  mad 
With  wounds,  the  water  lashes  into  foam. 
The  monks,  who  in  the  Nitrian  desert  dwelt 


68  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

At  peace,  because  their  leaders  dared  refuse 

Connivance  with  his  knavery  feel  his  wrath ; 

The  charge  of  heresy  is  hotly  hurled 

Upon  them ;  fire  and  plunder  spoil  their  home  : 

The  sword  pursues  them  into  Palestine, 

And  to  the  shore  where  eighty  men  embark 

In  hope  to  find  a  refuge  and  redress 

With  us.     Could  I  their  piteous  plea  withstand* 

I  wrote  in  tears  to  beg  Theophilus 

Would  take  the  offenders  back.     For  answer  cam< 

A  deputation  to  incriminate 

The  monks.     In  turn,  they  charged  Theophilus 

With   crimes :  and  when  I  would  have   stayed  thet 

purpose 

They  sought  the  Empress  and  implored  her  help. 
Her  heart  of  tenderness  and  piety 
Was  touched.     She  promised  ;  and  forthwith  a  court 
Was  summoned — I  the  judge;  Theophilus, 
My  brother  bishop,  the  arraigned. — Heard  you 
At  home  so  much  ?     \To  Flavian. 

Fla.     And  more  than  this  I  heard : 
The  angry  hierarch  declares  aloud 
Constantinople  shall  receive  him  soon, 
But  not  as  one  who  meets  a  culprit  charge  ; 
The  tables  shall  be  turned,  and  thou  shalt  stand 
Thy  trial  at  his  judgment-seat. 


The  Meeting.  69 

Chrys,  Tis  well ; 

I  would  not  be  his  judge — I  fear  him  not 
As  mine. 

Paul.     Integrity  is  void  of  fear ; 
But  enemies  can  make  the  fairest  life 
Look  infamous.     Thine  enemies  are  many : 
The  rich  whose  avarice  thou  hast  rebuked, 
The  priests  corrupt  whom  thou  hast  dared  depose, 
And  one  whose  power  the  throne  acknowledges. 

Chrys.     The  pious  Empress  ? 

Paul.  Ay,  her  piety 

Delights  itself  in  churchly  rites  and  gifts  ; 
Aud  thus  she  veils  her  cruelty  and  greed. 
As  Herod  hated  John  she  hates  the  man 
Whom  royalty  nor  forms  of  sanctity 
Can  blind  to  sin. 

Chrys.  The  words  seem  harsh,  and  yet 

They  match  too  well  the  deeds  that  late  have  moved 
My  sad  surmise. 

Paul.  Heaven  fend  from  thee  all  harm  ! 

But  if  affliction  come,  give  us  but  leave 
To  share  it  with  thee. 

Chrys.  God  be  with  you  both. 


SCENE  II.— A  street. 

Enter  PAULUS  and  GLAUCUS,  meeting. 

Paul.     What  eye  could  recognize  the  Spring-time 

tree— 

With  all  its  wealth  of  leaf  and  song  and  flower — 
When  Autumn  ashes  cover  it  ?     And  yet 
The  face  emaciate  in  this  solemn  cowl 
Brings  back  to  memory  one  who  sported  erst 
His  colors  gay,  and  sang  with  gleeful  voice. 

Glau.     I  had  forgotten  him. 

Paid.  But  not  thy  friend  ? 

(*rlau.     Oh  no,  and  least    of  all  the  friend  who 

found 
With  me  the  Best  of  friends. 

Paul.  And  may  I  know 

What  brings  thee  from  thine  aerie  down  to  tread 
The  dusty  level  of  this  noisy  world  ? 

Glau.     The  sounds  are  sifted  that  ascend  toward 

us : 

The  notes  of  common  strife  and  grief  and  mirth 
Fall  heavy  to  the  ground  from  which  they  sprung; 
But  sometimes,  clear  and  loud  as  midnight  bells. 
The  voices  of  events  do  call  to  us. 


The   Conspiracy.  Jl 

And  then — -as  angels,  less  of  earth  than  AVC, 

Have  visited  the  rude  abodes  of  men — 

We  leave  the  silent  solitudes,  the  air 

And  light  that  lave  the  upper  realm,  to  mix 

Once    more    in    scenes   renounced.      The    summons 

came 

To  me  when  one  I  love  and  venerate 
Was  brought  beneath  the  scourge  of  lying  tongues, 
And  menaced  with  the  forfeiture  of  life. 
Our  Lord  Himself  in  sorrow's  heavy  hour 
Would  feel  assured  that  faithful  friends  were  nigh : 
And  who  to  Chrysostom  should  comfort  bring 
But  we  who  to  his  holy  teachings  owe 
Our  comfort  here  and  hope  of  heavenly  life  ? 

Paul.     A  goodly  company  assemble  now 
Within  his  residence.     Go  we  at  once 
To  join  our  sympathy  with  theirs. 

Glau.  What  course 

Already  hath  the  scheme  nefarious  run  ? 

Paul.     Of  many  strands  a  cunning  cord  is  wove, 
To  bind  the  faithful  bishop  where  his  work 
And  words  will  no  more  rouse  the  jealousy 
Of  rivals,  nor  the  wrath  of  wicked  men. 
Within  the  dwelling  of  Eugraphia, 
Whose  dress  indecorous  had  drawn  the  fire 
Of  censure  from  his  lips,  a  conclave  met 


72  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Of  all  the  malcontents  :  the  venal  priests, 

The  hireling  courtiers  and  the  spiteful  dames. 

Imperial  favor  helped  to  hatch  the  plot 

When  all  is  ready  comes  Theophilus, 

A  train  of  cleric  pomp  attending  him. 

In  yon  Chalcedon  he  hath  fixed  his  quarters  : 

But  daily  to  and  fro,  between  the  town 

And  suburb,,  swift  this  spider  runs  and  spins 

His  web.     At  last  within  The  Oak — a  church 

So  named,  near  by  Chalcedon — sits  the  court : 

The  long  indictment  is  unrolled  and  read. 

Oh  wonderful  !     The  snows  of  Lebanon 

Are  blamed  for  blackness,  and  the  light  of  heaven 

Indicted  for  misleading  men  I 

Glau^  What  mean  you  ? 

Paul.     Of  heresy,  of  falsehood  and  of  fraud> 
Of  blasphemy,  and  gluttony  and  strife 
Is  he  accused  whose  life-blood  seems  composed 
Of  self-denial,  purity  and  peace  ! — 
Here  is  the  bishop's  house  beside  the  church. 


SCENE  III.— Hall  in  the  palace  of  the  Bishop.     A 

large  company  of  ecclesiastics  present  and  weeping. 

Enter  PAULUS  and  GLAUCUS. 

Chrys.  What  mean  ye,  friends,  to  weep  and  break 

my  heart  ? 

'  For  me  to  live  is  Christ  j  to  die  is  gain.1 
This  world  is  but  a  market-place  wherein 
We  meet  to  buy  and  sell,  and  then  go  home. 
Think  not  the  Master  will  forget  his  church 
Or  fail  to  furnish  helpers  for  her  need. 
In  God,  the  Lord,  forevermore  rejoice. 

{Enter  deputation  from  Council. 
With  honors  due  your  ranks  I  do  salute 
The  legates  of  the  sacerdotal  Council 

Messenger.  {Reads, .]  '  The  Holy  Synod  of  the  Oak 
to  John :  We  have  received  charges  against 
thee  of  a  thousand  crimes  ;  therefore,  appear  and 
answer? 

Bishop  Sallust.  We  deny  that  Theophilus  has  any 
lawful  jurisdiction  in  this  diocese. 

Bishop    Serapion.    He    himself   refused,  on    like 


74  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

grounds,  to  appear  at  the  citation  of  John  :  where 
fore,  if  he  is  ready  to  correct  his  reading  of  the  can 
on,  it  behooves  him  to  take  the  place  of  the  accused 
in  this  presence  ;  for  ours  is  as  legal  a  tribunal  as 
that  which  is  set  up  at  Chalcedon. 

Chrys.  The  jurisdiction  I  indeed  deny, 
But  will  defend  myself  before  the  court, 
If  only  they  who  are  my  enemies, 
By  word  and  deed  pronounced,  shall  sit  no  more 
Among  my  judges  to  discolor  truth. 

{Enter  officer  of  the   Crown. 

Off.  \Reads\  '  Hereby  the  Emperor  orders  the  Bishop 
John  to  obey  the  summons  of  the  Holy  Synod  and 
stand  his  trial  at  The  Oak.  — ARCADIUS. 

Chrys.  The  Emperor  cannot  unmake  the  right 
Of  the  arraigned  to  claim  a  trial  fair  ; 
And  not  for  forty  orders  will  I  go, 
Except  by  force,  to  let  my  honor  fall 
A  prey  to  malice,  under  forms  of  law. 

Egyptian  Bishops.  We  have  an  answer  ready  for 
this  bold  and  blasphemous  declaration  ;  The  Coun 
cil  has  decreed,  that  if  the  accused  fail  to  appear  he 
shall  be  adjudged  guilty,  deposed  from  office  and 
committed  to  the  Imperial  power  for  the  punishment 
due  to  high  treason. 


TJic  Sentence.  75 

Friends  of  Chrysostom.  To    the  church  !  To    the 

church  ! 

[T/iey  move  into  the  church  adjoining.     Chrysostom  as 
cends  the  pulpit  and  addresses  the  multitude  who  as 
semble. 
Chrys.  The  waves  run  high,  the  mighty  floods  are 

out! 

Yet  fear  we  not ;  the  Rock  is  under  us. 
Of  what  should  true  believers  be  afraid  ? 
Of  death  ?     Their  Saviour  lives,  and  they  with  him. 
Of  banishment  ?     The  wide  world  is  the  Lord's. 
Of  loss  of  goods  ?     We  nothing  brought  with  us, 
And  nothing  can  we  carry  forth  from  life. 
Good  friends,  be  full  of  courage  and  of  hope  ! 
Our  souls  no  death  nor  distance  can  divide, 
Nor  can  assaults  Satanic  shake  the  church. 
Her  ancient  foes  forgotten,  while  she  lives — 
Her  wall  shall  stand  against  the  present  shock 
Unweakened,  while  the  men  that  seek  her  harm 
Shall  perish.     Mine  is  not  an  idle  boast ; 
I  have  the  pledge  of  Christ — his  note  of  hand : 
'Where  two  or  three  are  met  am  I.'     And  this  : 
'Lo,  I  am  with  you  till  the  world  shall  end.' 
The  Rock  of  Ages  will  resist  the  plots 
And  powers  of  hell.     Exult  and  praise  the  Lord  ! 
So  shall  you  comfort  me,  who,  for  your  sake, 


76  The  Mouth  of  GoUL 

Would  die  a  thousand  deaths,  nor  count  it  more 
Than  duty  from  the  shepherd  to  his  flock. 

A  voice  in  the  crowd.  A  more  than  mortal  courage 
animates  him.  Let  us  organize  a  guard,  and,  night 
and  day,  defend  this  sacred  house  from  the  violence  of 
those  who  would  rob  the  poor  of  their  benefactor, 
and  religion  of  its  ablest  advocate  and  best  repre 
sentative. 

All.  Agreed  !  Agreed  !  Let  us  organize  ! 


SCENE  IV. —  The  sea-shore  below  the  city.     A  multi 
tude  :  among  whom  OLYMPIAS  and  THEODORA. 

Theo.  The  sun,  that  seemed  forever  swallowed  up 
In  clouds,  with  sudden  splendor  dazzles  us. 
Say,    will    he    keep    his    prosperous    course    hence 
forth, 
Or  soon  again  be  lost  to  us  unhappy  ? 

Olym.  Alike  in  honor  and  in  defamation 
In  wealth  and  poverty,  our  Chrysostom 
Hath  sung  the  self-same  strain  si  Praise  to  God  ; 
And  many  a  soul  hath  caught  from  him  the  song 


The  Recall.  77 

Unlearned  before.     I  tremble  lest  on  one 
So  patient  and  so  pure,  so  full  of  love 
And  thankfulness  vicissitude  should  try 
Its  full  experiment.     A  jubilee 
Awaits  him  now ;  to-morrow  mockery 
And  violence  may  drive  him  forth.     My  fears 
Make  discord  in  the  anthem  of  my  heart. 

Theo.  The  crowd  increases,  and  the  port  doth  deck 
Its  dancing  masts  with  flags  and  pennons  bright. 
A  thousand  hands  a  thousand  torches  grasp 
That  of  the  night  will  make  another  day. 
The  children  come  with  garlands,  and  the  bands 
Are  ready  with  their  most  melodious  mirth. 
Upon  the  topmost  summit  of  the  tower 
The  watchman  gazes  seaward,  if  afar 
He  may  descry  the  longed-for  sail. 

{Enter  FLAVIAN. 

Fla.  {To  Olympias.~\  Lady, 

Well  met.     I  bore  thy  benefactions  large 
To  those  whom  famine  threatened,  and  I  bring 
A  heavier  load  of  thanks  from  them  to  thee. 

Olym.  Thou  must  consent  to  bear  a  burden  still : 
For  weighty  thanks  are  due  to  one  who  braved 
The  desert  and  the  flood,  that  he  might  feed 
A  starving  people.     Gladly  would  we  hear 
At  once  the  story  of  the  expedition. 


78         .  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Fla.  Another  day ;  for  now  I  thirst  to  know 
The  meaning  of  this  scene.     On  every  side 
I  ask,  and  get  this  only  answer  back : 
*  Our  Chrysostom  comes  home  to-night !  '     I  left 
A  city  that  was  sad,  a  church  whose  doors 
Were  sealed  and  guarded  to  defend  the  man 
For  whom  the  city  now  makes  festival. 

Olym.  Three    days    within    the    holy    house  «he 

dwelt; 

But  when  he  heard  that  men  in  arms  were  sent 
To  apprehend  him,  forth,  by  secret  ways, 
He  passed  and  gave  himself  into  their  hands. 
By  night — fit  darkness  for  dark  deed — they  bore 
The  prisoner  to  the  ship  that  o'  er  the  sea 
Was  wafted  to  Praenetus.     Rid  of  him, 
His  foes  with  loud  invectives  filled  the  air. 
But,  as  a  conflagration  draws  the  clouds, 
Their  fury  wrought  reaction  and  resistance  : 
Tumultuous  debate  drove  peace  away. 
Nature  herself  gave  utterance  to  her  wrath, 
And  made  the  city  tremble  in  her  arms. 
Affrighted  conscience  woke  in  many  a  breast, 
And,  as  from  Pilate's  palace  went  of  old 
The  hurried  message, f  Have  thou  nought  to  do 
With  that  just  man/  so  from  Eudoxia  flew 
A  letter  full  of  pleas  and  penitence. 


The  Recall.  79 

'  Come  back,'  it  said,  '  thou  holy  man  of  God, 

Whom  wicked  enemies  have  sorely  wronged.' — 

Hark  to  the  signal !  Yes,  he  comes  !  he  comes  ! 

[  The  ship  enters  the  harbor.  Chrysostom  is  received 
with  demonstrations  of  liveliest  joy  ;  and  a  torch 
light  procession  escorts  him  to  the  church^  where  he 
is  made  to  ascend  the  pulpit.} 
Chrys.  What  shall  I  say?  Praise  God  forever- 
more  ! 

I  blessed  Him  when  I  went ;  I  bless  Him  now. 

The  winter  and  the  summer  are  not  same, 

But  both  unite  to  fertilize  the  field. 

The  Lord  bade  me  withdraw  and  brought  me  back : 

He  sent  the  storm  and  sends  the  welcome  calm. 

For  both  alike  I  bless  His  holy  name. 

Praise  God  in  prosperous  times — they  shall  abide ; 

Praise  God  in  adverse  times — they  shall  depart. 

LORD  of  the  day  and  of  the  dark, 

We  glory  in  Thy  gracious  Name  ; 
No  wind-blown,  evanescent  spark, 

It  burns  a  pure  and  steadfast  flame. 

Thy  name  is  LOVE,  resplendent  still 

When  prosperous  suns  expire  or  glow ; 

Its  beams  the  sky  of  pleasure  fill 

And  brightly  tint  griefs  tearful  bow. 


So  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

The  silver  and  the  sable  threads 

Together  make  life's  fabric  fair  : 
No  perfect  landscape  but  outspreads 
Some  sober  glooms  amid  the  glare. 

Oh  LOVE  most  fond  and  firm  and  wise ! 

Lead  us  the  way  Thou  choosest  well. 
Where'er  the  changeful  pathway  lies 

A  constant  joy  with  us  shall  dwell. 


VI. 
PERSONS   REPRESENTED. 


CHRYSOSTOM,  FLAVIAN,  PAULUS,  GLAUCUS, 
OLYMPIAS,  THEODORA. 

SCENE. — Constantinople  and  region  of  the  Black  Sea. 
TIME. — A.  D.  404-407. 


SCENE  I.— The  Bishop's  house  in  Constantinople. 
Enter  CHRYSOSTOM  and  FLAVIAN. 

Chrys.  Again  Herodias  dances,  and  desires 
The  head  of  John. 

Fla.  I  do  not  understand 

What  thou  wouldst  say. 

Chrys.  As  if  to  cover  up 

The  shame  of  short-lived  penitence  and  fear, 
Eudoxia  dares  with  rites  idolatrous 
To  challenge  Heaven.     Beside  the  church  of  God 
She  rears  a  silver  statue  of  herself, 
And  bids  the  people  bow  and  do  it  homage. 

Fla.  Thou  wilt  not  think  it  duty  to  protest, 
And  on  thy  head  bring  down 'anew  her  wrath? 

Chrys.  What  time  the  Babylonian  King  set  up 
A  golden  god  in  Dura,  three  brave  men 
Let  not  the  seven-fold  fires  defeat  their  faith. 
Shall  we  that  live  to-day  be  timorous 
Before  an  irate  woman,  but  provoke 
With  mad  temerity  the  wrath  of  God  ? 
My  office  were  a  nest  of  nettles  if, 
For  dignity  and  safety,  I  should  teach 


84  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

My  voice  to  utter  aught  but  truth,  or  keep 
A  treacherous  silence.     Nay,  this  haughty  queen 
Shall  see  her  sin  though  fierce  resentment  fell 
The  hand  that  holds  the  mirror  to  her  eyes. 

Fla.  Tis  said  that  hired  assassins  wait  and  watch 
To  strike  the  dastard  blow. 

Chrys.     •  And  truly  said. 

The  sanctity  of  home  nor  of  God's  house 
Can  lend  protection  to  the  man  whose  words 
Are  counted  '  troublers  unto  Israel.' 

Fla.  Elijah  fled  the  rage  of  Jezebel ; 
Wilt  thou  not,  for  our  sake  and  that  the  cause 
May  yet  receive  thy  service,  fly  the  storm, 
And  in  some  foreign  harbor  furl  the  sails 
That  here  so  oft  tempestuous  winds  have  torn  ? 

Chrys.  One  only  harbor  may  afford  me  peace. 
<  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord ; ' 
The  Christ  through  warfare  entered  into  rest, 
And  we  must  suffer  if  we  will  be  saved. 
I  will  not  imitate  the  prophet's  flight, 
But  wait  till  violence  shall  thrust  me  forth. 

Fla.  The  same  decree  that  sends  my  bishop  hence 
Shall  give  me  leave  to  share  his  banishment. 

Chrys.  Adversity  reveals  the  faithful  friend : 
Yet  shalt  thou  serve  me  best  by  serving  those 
I  leave  '  as  sheep  amidst  the  howling  wolves.' 


The  Letters.  85 


SCENE  II. — Room  in  the  house  of  Olympias.     Olym- 
pias  reclining.     A  package  of  letters  at  her  side. 

Olym.  Companions  of  my  weary  solitude, 
Ye  tell  me  more  than  on  your  leaves  is  written. 
I  look  upon  you  and  the  past  comes  back, 
In  living  pictures  dark  and  tragical. 
I  see  again  that  night  when  sacrilege 
Our  holy  house  invaded,  and  the  songs 
Of  Easter-time  were  turned  to  cries  of  fear, 
And  the  baptismal  font  with  blood  was  filled  ; 
Not  as  when  Pilate  at  the  altar  slew 
For  crime,  but  blood  of  youthful  innocence.* 
I  see  the  white-robed  throng,  who  with  the  morn 
Should  march  with  music  forth  to  celebrate 
The  risen  Lord  and  their  own  life  renewed, 
By  force  expelled;  and,  as  a  leaf-crowned  oak 
Stripped  bare  of  foliage  by  a  thunderbolt, 
The  church  at  once  bereft  of  worshippers. 
I  stand  again   with  all  the  company 
Of  those  who  serve  with  Chrysostom,  to  hear 
His  words  of  farewell  and  of  earnest  charge  : 


86  The  Month  of  Gold. 

Cheerful  the  tones,  but  heard  by  heavy  hearts. 

So  sound  the  fallen  chieftain's  rallying  words 

To  soldiers  who  in  grief  around  him  wait. 

Again  I  watch  upon  the  shore  where  fades 

From  sight  the  sail  for  far  Bithynia  bound. 

Again  fierce  conflagration  turns  to  dust 

The  house  of  God  :  and  we  that  weep  the  loss 

Are  dragged  to  court,  as  the  incendiaries. 

The  insolent  Optatus,  in  the  place 

For  judgment  made,  accuses  me  in  terms 

Of  common  slander,  whose  rebuke  should  burn 

Within  the  breast  and  break  from  out  the  lips 

That  hate  me  most : — and  he  who  would  have  helped 

My  weakness  to  sustain  the  blow,  an  exile. 

Oh  bitter  months  of  persecution,  pain 

And  grief!     But  ye  have  been  my  comforters, 

Though  oft  renewing  pain,  epistles  penned 

In  banishment. 

Now  let  some  fragrance  steal 
From  out  the  store,  to  raise  my  fainting  faith. 

[  Takes  up  a  letter  and  reads. 
'  The  heavenly  consolation  comes  to  me 
As   trouble    calls.       Who    would   have   dreamed,  my 

friend, 

That  in  the  storm,  begirt  with  fog  and  night, 
My  little  barque  should  navigate  at  ease 


The  Letters.  87 

As  if  in  quiet  waters  ?  So  it  is. 
I  only  pray  thy  happiness  may  be 
Not  less  than  mine.'1 

Alas,  a  sterner  storm 

Drew  nigh :  the  sentence  came  that  banished  him 
To  Cucusus,  where  torrid  summers  blaze, 
And  winters  from  the  hills  blow  fiercely  down, 
And  wild  Isaurians  devastate  and  kill. 
Ah,  then  the  wail  that  from  our  hearts  arose 
His  own  lament  repeated.     But  anon 
The  wonted  strain  of  Praise  to  God  came  back 
To  give  us  comfort,  who  in  vain  had  sought 
To  tame  the  lioness  who  rules  the  state. 

[  Takes  a  second  letter. 
Oh  this  from  Caesarea  brought  a  load 
Of  anguish  \  for  it  told  the  woful  tale 
Of  toilsome  journey  o'er  the  rugged  hills, 
Beneath  the  blasting  sun  ;  of  sickness,  want, 
And  flight  from  savage*  men,  where,  in  the  dark, 
Death  laid  his  snares  along  the  rocky  slopes. 
Yet  gratitude  toward  God  and  human  friends 
Flows  deep  and  strong  through  all  the  painful  story. 

\Looks  at  other  letters. 
And  these  from  Cucusus. 

{Reads. 
1  Be  not  despondent ; 


88  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Nor  exile  nor  imprisonment  nor  stripes 

Are  worthy  to  be  called  calamity ', 

But  sin  alone.     Who  injures  not  himself 

Is  safe.     A  little  time,  and  all  that  mars 

Our  fair  estate,  shall  pass  away  and  leave 

To  immortality  our  wealth  of  joy. 

From  earthly  help  and  earthly  menacing 

Look  unto  God,  whose  ways  mysterious 

Are  ever  merciful.     To  me,  close-housed 

7n  wintry  Cucusus,  He  sends  the  gifts 

That  solace  and  relieve  adversity. 

Sabiniana  and  Dioscurus 

Have  made  a  home  for  me  ;  and  here  my  thoughts 

Have  leave  to  wander,  though  my  feet  are  fast. 

To  far  Phenida,  Persia,  Antioch, 

And  you  that  suffer  in  the  Capital 

My  frequent  words  convey  my  sympathy. 

Nor  can  the  distance,  nor  the  frowning  hills 

And  hostile  hordes  deter  but  some,  inflamed 

With  youthful  zeal,  resort  to  me,  as  one 

From  whom  they  hope  to  learn  the  way  of  life. 

What  cause  for  thanks  !  although  the  best  beloved 

Are  far  away,  and  thronging  cares  do  press 

Their  suit,  sometimes,  with  importunity. J 

Then  came  the  short,  impetuous  summer  heat, 

Two  dismal  winters  and  the  wild  marauders. 


The  Letters.  89 

And  then  disease  and  tedious  days  and  nights 

And  the  dispersion,  when  in  clefts  and  caves, 

As  they  in  ancient  times  of  whom  the  world 

Was  all  unworthy,  he  was  forced  to  hide 

From  the  Isaurians,  with  multitudes 

Who,  closely  pent,  feared  famine  and  infection. 

Through    snow   and    ice,    by   day   and    night,   they 

reach 

The  tower  of  Arabissus,  scarce  alive. 
Alas,  I  know  not  if  he  lives  to-day; 
And  life  to  me  amidst  such  misery 
Seems  sometimes  but  a  burden  hard  to  bear. 
God  pity  my  infirmity  !  Again, 
In  silence,  I  will  read  this  essay  o'er 
Whose  lofty  argument  unfolds  the  law : 
^No  harm  for  them  that  injure  not  themselves? 

[Enter  Attendant  and  PAULUS. 
Your  looks  report  no  happy  news  for  me. 

Paul.  Nay,  lady  ;  news  that  gives  us  all  a  pang : 
The  hounds  that  hunt -the  deer  have  found  again 
His  hiding-place,  and  drive  him  forth  to  seek 
New  covert  or  to  die. 

Olym.  And  can  no  bribe 

Nor  argument  at  our  command  restrain 
These  fierce  barbarians  ?  are  they  so  gross 
In  cruelty  that  they  will  rather  kill 


90  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

An  innocent  and  helpless  man  than  count 
Whatever  wealth  we  offer  them  his  ransom  ? 

Paul.  Indeed,  I  would  our  dealings   were    with 

those 

We  call  barbarians  :  some  tenderness 
Within  their  hearts  might  answer  to  our  touch. 
But  fiercer,  more  relentless  is  the  rage 
That  rules  a  woman's  heart,  when  all  the  milk 
Of  natural  gentleness  has  turned  to  gall, 
Than  is  the  violence  of  tribes  untamed. 
Eudoxia  cannot  sleep  while  burns  the  light 
Of  this  pure  life  that  shows  her  vanity 
And  sin.     Not  daring  to  extinguish  it, 
She  would  remove  it  where  its  power  to  draw 
And  to  distress  the  gaze  should  cease  :  wherefore 
She  sends  this  order : 

c  Let  two  soldiers  lead 
The  banished  bishop  forth  to  Pity  us? 

Olym.  Where  lies  the  place  ? 

Paul.  Upon  the  empire's  verge 

Beneath  Mount  Caucasus,  and  on  the  shore 
Where  desolation  looks  along  the  sea. 
To  such  a  prison  doth  imperial  wrath 
Consign  the  prophet  who  would  speak  the  truth. 

Olym.  Make  haste  to  find    what    measures    new 
may  move 


Terminus.  9* 

This  purpose  from  its  bent,  or  by  what  mode 
Some  succor  may  be  sent  ere  'tis  too  late. 
Oh  that  my  will  could  break  the  bonds  that  bind 
This  feeble  body  down  !  Then  would  I  fly 
To  rescue  him  or  perish  at  his  side. 


SCENE  III. — Church  of  St.  Basiliscus  in  the  province 
of  Pontus. 

Enter two  Soldiers. 

First  Sol.  We  ought  to  have  heeded  when  he  be 
sought  us  to  let  him  remain  here  till  noon  before  at 
tempting  to  proceed.  Now  we  have  had  weary  work 
to  bring  him  back  more  dead  than  alive.  To  force 
him  along  was  murder. 

Second  Sol.  Have  a  care  !  If  thou  accusest  me  of 
murder  I  may  feel  obliged  to  save  thee  from  the  of 
fence  of  lying,  by  matching  deed  to  word. 

First  Sol.  Be  not  angry;  but  I  cannot  see  an  in 
offensive  old  man  suffer  without  pity. 

Second  Sol.  Pity  is  for  women  to  feel.  A  Roman 
soldier  ought  to  know  nothing  but  to  obey  orders. 


92  77/6-  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Besides,  I  like  to  give  these  holy  people  a  little  taste 
of  hardship.  We  get  kicks  and  curses  enough  from 
those  in  command  :  why  not,  when  we  have  opportu 
nity,  pass  some  of  them  along  to  neighbors  who  are  in 
danger  of  being  spoiled  by  indulgence  ?  If  this 
woe-begone  prisoner  dies  on  our  hands,  why,  we 
are  saved  the  remainder  of  a  most  abominable  jour 
ney.  I'll  go  to  sleep  here  in  the  corner;  and  you,  if 
you  choose,  may  devote  your  attentions  to  your  charm 
ing  patient. 

First  Sol.  [Goes  to  the  chancel  where  Chrysostom 
lies,  attended  by  Christian  women  of  the  neighbor 
hood.^ 

Forgive,  oh  holy  man,  my  partnership 
In  cruelties  I  could  not  turn  aside. 

Chrys.  I  owe  thee  not  forgiveness,  but  my  thanks 
For  gentleness  and  kindest  sympathy. 
What  thanks  are  due  the  Lord,  that  mine  should  be 
A  fate  so  like  to  His  who  heard  harsh  words 
From  one  who  hung  beside  Him,  but  the  scorn 
Rebuked  and  turned  to  reverence  and  prayer 
By  one  who  from  the  other  cross  beheld 
His  spirit  entering  into  Paradise. 
Woman.  [To  her  companions •.] 
Prepare  a  litter ;  that,  upon  it  laid, 
He  may  be  borne  within  some  dwelling  near. 


Terminus.  93 

Chrys.  Content ;  the   church   of  God  hath  been 

my  home ; 

Here  will  I  die.     Last  night  I  saw  the  saint 
Whose  bones  beneath  this  altar  wait  the  day 
Of  resurrection.     As  my  weary  load 
Of  corporal  pain  fell  off  in  sleep  and  left 
The  spirit  buoyant  and  unveiled,  behold, 
A  spirit  glorified  appeared  and  said : 
1  To-morrow  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  bliss/ 
Kind  friends,  detain  me  not :  but  bring  me  here 
The  sacred  symbols  of  my  Saviour's  death, 
That  once  again  with  him  assimilate 
And  crucified,  I  may  be  ready  so 
With  him  to  rise  and  reign  forevermore. 

[He  takes  the  communion. 
Thank  God  for  this  !     Thank  God  for  everything  ! 

[Dies. 

First  Sol.  The  words  that  oftenest  left  his  living 

lips 

Seem  lingering  on  them  still.     That  settled  smile 
Hath  in  it  Praise  to  God.     Oh  women,  weep, 
But  not  for  him  :  weep  for  a  world  whose  night 
Hath  lost  its  chiefest  luminary. 

Woman.  Nay, 

Within  my  heart  a  prophecy  declares 
The  light,  that  sometime  wandered  midst  the  dark 


94  Tke  Mouth  of  Gold. 

And  damp  below,  death's  hand  hath  set  on  high, 

A    star    whose    beams    shall    shine   undimmed   by 

years, 
And  draw  the  loving  gaze  of  all  the  lands. 

First  Sol.  With  solemn  ceremonies  let  us  lay 
The  body  to  its  rest  beside  the  saint 
Who  long  hath  slumbered  here.     The  time  may  be 
When  kings  shall  journey  to  this  spot,  and  beg 
The  privilege  to  bear  the  dust  away 
Whose  presence  shall  enrich  the  proudest  shrine. 


SCENE  IV. — OLYMPIAS'  house.  Present  OLYMPIAS, 
THEODORA,  and  other  deaconesses,  PAULUS,  FLA 
VIAN,  GLAUCUS,  and  other  ministers  and  friends. 

Glau.  I  loved  him  with  you  all,  nor  in  my  cell, 
That  shut  from  view  the  multitude  of  things 
Within  the  earthly  scene,  was  he  forgotten 
Who,  on  the  earth,  seemed  yet  a  visitant 
From  heaven.    I  wrestled  in  my  prayers  for  him. 
But  now  he  needs  nor  prayers  nor  sympathy 
Save  sympathy  of  joy  ineffable. 

Olym.  But  He  who  wept  in  grief  beside  the  grave 


Laus   Deo.  95 

Of  Lazarus,  will  not  rebuke  our  tears 
For  one  so  brave  and  good,  from  earth  and  us 
Removed.     Oh,  might  we  but  have  been  with  him 
When  through  death's  valley  dark  alone  he  passed  ! 

Fla.  To  me  returns  the  ancient  mystery, 
How  one  who  with  such  fervor  served  his  God 
Should  fall  beneath  the  scourge  of  sufferings 
So  keen  and  multiplied. 

Paul.  <  Whom  God  doth  love 

He  chastens : '   choicest  gold  doth  tempt  the  art 
Of  the  refiner  and  the  graver  most. 
To  prove  the  power  of  faith,  the  strong  in  faith 
Must  bear  the  weight  of  trials  manifold, 
That  weak  and  unbelieving  souls  may  see 
And  glorify  celestial  grace. 

Theo.  '  Whoso 

Doth  offer  praise  brings  glory  to  our  God.' 
In  darksome  night,  as  well  as  cheerful  day 
The  song  of  praise  our  heaven-taught  warbler  sang. 

All.  Lord,  teach  our  souls  to  sing  that  harmony : 
Forever  make  us  to  rejoice  in  Thee  ! 


96  The  Month  of  Gqld. 


THE   VALLEY    OF   BERACHAH. 
(n.  Chron.  xx.) 

WHEN  Judah's  foes  were  all  assembled 

Within  Tekoa's  wilderness, 
On  pallid  lips  the  accents  trembled  : 

'  Save  us,  O  Lord,  in  our  distress  ! ' 

The  answer  came,  their  fears  allaying, 
*  Ye  shall  not  need  to  fight  to-day ; 

For  I  Myself,  My  power  displaying, 
Will  sweep  that  hostile  host  away.7 

Forthwith,  before  the  embattled  legions, 
A  band  of  singers  marched  and  sang; 

And  through  those  wild,  infested  regions 
Praise  to  the  Lord  sublimely  rang. 

What  frenzy  then  and  dire  delusion 

That  haughty,  heathen  host  ran  through ! 

Brothers  and  allies,  in  confusion, 
With  sword  and  spear  each  other  slew. 

Till  lo,  the  watchman,  far  off  gazing, 
Beheld  an  army  melt  as  snow : 

And  only  spoils  of  wealth  amazing 
And  fallen  forms  the  field  to  show. 

In  earth's  wide  wilderness  are  thronging 

The  ranks  of  evil  and  of  care  : 
And  ofttimes,  sad  with  fear  and  longing, 

We  pour  our  plaints  in  bitter  prayer. 


La  us  Deo.  97 

Oh  could  we  sing  our  Lord's  sweet  praises 

Nor  sin  nor  grief  should  do  us  harm ; 
But  as,  when  morn  her  banner  raises 

The  wild  beasts  fly  in  strange  alarm — 

Our  fears  themselves  should  feel  a  panic ; 

Perplexity  should  loose  its  toils, 
And  from  the  fallen  host  Satanic 

Our  hands  should  gather  happy  spoils, 

O  THOU  who  art  of  grace  the  fountain, 

Help  us  in  praise  to  find  employ, 
Till  we  ascend  Thy  heavenly  mountain, 

With  songs  and  everlasting  joy  ! 


NOTES. 


Page  7. — *  See  where  her  statue  stands,  a  radiant  queen 
Whose  feet  rest  on  the  rising  river-god, 
OroHtes* 


ALLEGORICAL  STATUE  or  A.NTIOCH. 
[From  Conybeare  and  Hoivson  s  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  PauL% 


IO2  ^77*6f  Mouth  of  Gold. 

Page  7. — '  fifo\n>.t  Syphilis,  where  the  royal  bird  alighting 
Informed  Seleucus  here  to  found  his  city? 

According  to  tradition,  the  site  of  Antioch  was  determined  by 
the  flight  of  an  eagle,  with  a  piece  of  the  flesh  which  Seleucus 
had  offered  in  sacrifice. — [See  in  Conybeare  and  Howson,  vol.  i. 
p.  121. 

Page  8. — *    the  Vulcan  crew 

That  underneath  this  soil  are  wont  to  work. — ' 

The  city,  some  of  whose  characteristic  physical  and  social 
features  are  here  pictured,  has,  during  the  last  year,  received  an 
almost  finishing  blow  from  its  old  enemy,  the  earthquakes. 

Page  9 — '  The  voice  of  Daphne  calls  her  votaries? 

Through  an  arcade  paved  with  marble  the  path  led  toward 
Daphne,  a  pleasure  grove  five  miles  from  the  city. 

"  The  establishment  of  a  Greek  Empire  in  Syria,  on  the  death 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  involved  the  introduction  of  Grecian 
fable  and  mythology.  Of  all  the  fictions  that  poetry  had  ren 
dered  sacred  and  beautiful,  there  was  none  that  experienced  a 
readier  or  more  enthusiastic  reception  in  the  East  than  that 
which  had  consecrated  the  fate  of  Daphne,  and  the  story  of 
Apollo's  love.  The  god  and  the  nymph  were  both  adopted  by 
the  lively  imaginations  of  their  new  votaries  and 

'  that  sweet  grove 
Of  Daphne  by  Orontes,' 

seemed  fitter  for  the  scene  of  such  a  tale  than  the  cold  clime  of 
Greece.     Here  summer  was  tempered  in  its  heat  by  hundreds 


Notes.  103 

of  fountains ;  and  an  impenetrable  laurel  shade,  that  extended 
for  miles,  excluded  the  fiercer  blaze  of  that  sun  whose  worship 
imparted  its  sacred  character  to  the  place,  and  made  it  religious. 
The  games  which  constituted  so  large  a  portion  of  the  sacred 
rites  in  Greece  were  here  performed  with  enthusiasm  and  de 
votion.  Here,  too,  all  who  professed  to  worship  were  the  vota 
ries  of  love." — \Lempriere> s  Dictionary. — Art.  Daphne. 

Page  9. — '  Here1  s  a  Christian  friend? 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  as  the  name  of  Christianity  be 
came  popular,  many  entered  the  church  who  were  altogether 
wanting  in  the  pure  and  self-denying  spirit  of  the  Master  and  his 
first  disciples.  The  prevalent  apostasy  rendered  such  charac 
ters  as  that  of  Chrysostom  the  more  noticeable  and  worthy  of 
honor. 

Page  10. — *  From  Port  Seleucia? 

The  port  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes,  while  Antioch 
was  a  number  of  miles  inland,  but  accessible  by  sail  through  the 
windings  of  the  river. 

Page  12. — '  The   charioteer  was  dead.1 

The  factious  spirit  and  the  sporting  habit  had  wrought  in 
Antioch,  as  elsewhere,  a  hardness  and  brutality  of  feeling  under 
all  the  guise  of  gayety ;  and  not  seldom  the  festive  games  ended 
in  hostile  and  sanguinary  strife. 

Page  15. — '  Anthusa? 

The  mother  of  Chrysostom  is  to  be  ranked  with  MONICA, 
the  mother  of  Augustine,  as  an  example  of  noble  qualities  and 


104  The  Month  of  Gold. 

of  what  such  qualities  in  a  mother  may  effect  for  her  children, 
and,  through  them,  for  the  world. 

Page  15. — '  Libanius? 

This  man  was  distinguished  alike  for  his  learning  and 
teaching  talent,  and  for  his  ardent  championship  of  Paganism 
against  Christianity.  Anthusa  seems  to  have  judged — and 
rightly — that  the  faith  she  had  inculcated  on  the  mind  of  her  son 
would  only  be  rendered  the  more  indelible  by  contact  with  an 
opposing  faith. 

Page  17* — *  The  meek  and  matron  robe  was  mine  ere  yet 
The  years  of  youth  were  fled? 

The  husband  of  Anthusa  and  father  of  Chrysostom  was  Se* 
cundus,  an  officer  of  high  rank.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  the 
son  was  just  born  and  the  mother  only  in  her  twentieth  year. 

Page  24. — '  They  say  he  deals  with  dialectics  less 
Than  with  the  life? 

"  The  Christian  orators  who  preceded  him  had  been  ad 
dicted  to  curious  metaphysical  disquisitions,  and  to  fierce,  ever- 
returning  controversies  with  Pagans,  Jews,  and  heretics,  so  call 
ed.  Chrysostom  was  not  wholly  free  from  these  defects ;  yet 
scarcely  one  of  his  predecessors  so  fully  subordinated  the  sub 
tlety  of  current  dogmatic  opinions  to  the  interest  of  true  piety 
and  practical  morality." — PanieL 

Page  25. — *  The  rising  ivaz'es  of  m^ttiny — ' 

Antioch  was  under  the  immediate  rule  of  a  Governor,  who 
was  appointed  by  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople.  The  present 


Notes.  105 

Emperor,  Theodosius  the  Great,  had  laid  upon  the  city  a  tax  dis 
proportionate  even  to  its  abundant  wealth.  The  dissatisfaction 
was  general.  It  might  not  however  have  led  to  turbulence  but  for 
the  action  of  a  set  of  dissolute  men  who  were  habitually  employed 
as  claqueurs  at  the  theatres,  and  who  were  ready  for  any  riotous 
demonstration. 

Page  41. — '  And  when  the  proud  Prime  Minister  returned 

From  Antioch  flushed  ivith  hope  which  he  had  bought 
By  bloodshed — ' 

Arcadius  succeeded  Theodosius,  as  Emperor  of  the  East,  in 
the  year  395.  As  he  was  a  weak  character,  the  ambitious 
Prime  Minister  Rufinus  aspired  to  be  the  '  power  behind  the 
throne '  and  more  than  the  throne  itself.  To  this  end  lie  planned 
a  match  between  his  daughter  and  the  Emperor.  But  having 
appointed  a  certain  Lucian  to  office  in  Antioch,  he  was  cha 
grined  to  find  that  he  had  thereby  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
Arcadius.  To  remedy  which  error  he  hastened  to  Antioch  and, 
upon  some  pretext,  had  Lucian  arrested  and  put  to  death.  But 
so  atrocious  an  expedient  signally  failed — the  beautiful  ward 
of  the  murdered  man  being  at  that  moment  the  accepted  bride 
of  the  Emperor,  through  the  cunning  contrivance  of  the  hair 
dresser,  Eutropius. 

Page  44. — ' — the  proud  Theophilus, 
Of  Alexandria — ' 

Alexandria  shared  with  Rome  and  Constantinople  the  honor 
of  being  a  capital  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Its  patriarch,  there 
fore,  occupied  a  place  of  large  power.  Theophilus,  the  incum- 


IO6  The  Mouth  of  Gold. 

bent  of  the  office  at  the  present  time,  was  a  man  of  ability  and 
energy,  but  of  selfish  schemes  :  wont  to  accommodate  himself  to 
circumstances,  without  overmuch  regard  for  consistency  or  right 
principle ;  a  natural  enemy  therefore  of  such  a  man  as  Joh; 
Chrysostom. — [Vide  Neandet's  History  of  the  CJmrch.  vol.  i 
pp.  689-692. 

Page  45. — '  Olympias  who  serves  the  church  so  well? 

The  office  of  deaconess  was  instituted  in  the  Apostolic  age, 
and  was  of  peculiar  significance  in  Eastern  countries,  where  the 
habits  of  society  precluded  men,  in  great  degree,  from  minister 
ing  to  families. — [Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  188. 

Page  48. — *  The  indolent  resent  our  call  to  prayer 
That  steals  an  hour  from  sleep? 

It  was  customary  to  have  week-day  services  in  the  church 
es  ;  but  as  most  of  the  men  made  their  business  an  excuse  for 
non-attendance,  Chrysostom  instituted  a  nightly  service  of  one 
hour.  This,  with  the  other  requirements  which  his  strict  ideas 
dictated,  came  into  sharp  collision  with  the  easy,  careless  and 
voluptuous  style  of  things  at  the  capital. 

Page  53. — «  This  traitor  Tribigild  with  all  his  Goths? 

The  Gothic  provinces  were  at  this  time  tributary  to  the  Em 
pire.  But  their  Generals,  Tribigild  and  Gainas,  living  at  the 
capital,  became  disgusted  with  the  mercenary  and  oppressive 
administration  of  Eutropius,  and  determined  upon  revolt,  if 
they  could  not  otherwise  secure  his  deposition. 


Notes.  107 

Page  55. — c  Where  fugitives,  though  tracked  by  justice,  find 
Security? 

Like  the  ancient  "  cities  of  refuge,"  the  Christian  churches 
were  early  recognized  as  inviolable  asylums  for  all  who  fled  to 
them  for  protection.  It  was  this  '  right  of  sanctuary '  which  Eutro- 
pius  had  caused  to  be  repealed,  because  it  stood  in  the  way  of 
his  resentment. 

Page  59. — *  The  zeal  that  bade  him  brave  the  boisteroiis  seas.1 

Not  satisfied  with  the  banishment  of  Eutropius,  the  Gothic 
Generals  demanded  the  surrender  into  their  hands  of  three  other 
men  who  were  in  high  office.  With  this  demand  the  citizens 
were  wholly  unwilling  to  comply.  But  in  a  noble  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  the  men  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves,  going  into 
the  midst  of  the  hostile  camp.  Chrysostom  lost  no  time  in  fol 
lowing  them  and  pleading  with  the  rough  Generals  for  their  safety. 

Page  64. — '  An  impulse  such  as  sent  Saint  Christopher — ' 

See  the  beautiful  legend  as  told  by  Mrs.  Jameson  and  the 
author  of  the  *  Schonberg  Cotta  Family.' 

Page  67. — '  When  once  they  hear  the  church? s  censure  seek 
Her  altar  nevermore,  though  penitent? 

A  sect,  called  Novatians,  or  Puritans,  held  that  one  who  after 
baptism  had  received  censure  for  gross  sin,  ought  never  to  be  re 
admitted  to  church  fellowship,  however  he  might  repent  and 
hope  for  forgiveness  with  God. 


IOS  Month  of  Gold. 

Page  67. — '  The  monks  who  in  the  Nitrian  desert  dwelt? 

In  the  north  of  Egypt  were  two  parties  of  monks.  One  party, 
residing  in  the  Nitrian  desert,  accepted  the  doctrines  of  the  cel 
ebrated  Origen  of  Alexandria.  The  other  party,  in  the  Scetic 
desert,  were  strongly  opposed  to  some  of  those  doctrines.  The- 
ophilus,  who  had  originally  favored  the  Nitrian  party,  and  had 
induced  some  of  the  leading  men  of  that  order  to  enter  his 
service,  found  that  they  would  not  be  subservient  to  his  extrava 
gant  plans  for  spending  the  church  revenues.  Thereupon  he 
put  forth  an  edict  forbidding  any  one  to  read  the  works  of 
Origen.  And  when  the  monks  would  not  obey,  he  instigated  an 
armed  attack,  whereby  the  cloisters  were  destroyed  and  the  poor 
monks,  three  hundred  in  number,  were  scattered.  Eighty  of 
them  fled  to  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem ;  and  on  being  driven 
thence  embarked  for  Constantinople  to  seek  shelter  within  the 
diocese  of  Chrysostom. — \Perthes,  pp.  159,  160. 

Page  71. — *  Within  the  dwelling  of  Eugraphia? 

She  was  one  of  three  court  ladies  \vhom  the  bishop  had  ex 
asperated  by  the  faithful  severity  of  his  criticism. 

Page  84. — '  /  see  the  white  robed-throng  who  with  the  morn 
Should  march  with  music  forth — : 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Christian  church,  certain  seasons 
were  regarded  specially  appropriate  for  the  observance  of  the 
ordinance  of  baptism ;  and  of  these  seasons  Easter  eve  was  held 
to  be  the  most  sacred.  Hence,  in  populous  cities,  multitudes, 
amounting  sometimes  to  thousands,  were  baptized  on  this  anni 
versary  festival.  The  night  time  seems  to  have  been  chosen  for 


Notes.  109 

the  rite,  in  order  to  impart  to  it  greater  solemnity,  perhaps  mys 
tery.  On  Easter  morn  the  newly  baptized  appeared  clad  in 
white  robes,  emblematical  of  the  new  life  of  purity  upon  which 
they  had  entered. — [Translators'  note  in  Perthes,  p.  185. 

Page  93. — *  When  kings  shall  journey  to  this  spot,  and  beg 
The  privilege  to  bear  the  dust  away — ' 

Arcadius  died  eight  months  a.ter  Chrysostom.  Thirty  years 
later,  his  son,  Theodosius  II.  and  the  bishop  Proclus  brought 
the  remains  of  Chrysostom,  with  the  greatest  honors,  from  Asia 
Minor  to  Constantinople.  On  the  27th  of  January,  438,  The 
odosius  knelt  down  on  his  coffin  and  entreated  forgiveness  of  the 
sainted  spirit  for  the  injustice  which  his  parents,  and  especially 
his  mother,  had  done  him.  Subsequently  the  bones  of  the  now 
canonized  hero  were  removed  to  Rome,  and,  about  two  centuries 
since,  were  deposited  by  Pope  Urban  VIII.  in  a  chapel  of  St. 
Peter's  which  still  bears  the  name  of  Chrysostom. — [Ibid.  p.  231. 


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